PRESENTED  TO  THE  LIBRABY 


OF 


PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


BY 


j|V[ps.  Ale^dandef  Ppoudfit. 

BV  4832  .M18  1853 
Macduff,  John  R.  1818-1895 
The  morning  watches,  and 
Night  watches 


^.^i^ii^.   ^4   ^^^yi^irt^ 


•■^^^ 


-..^^'^r-Af'S? 


THE 


MORI^OG    WATCHES 


NIGHT  WATCHES. 


BY 

THE  AUTHOR  OF  "THE  FAITHFUL  PJROMISER." 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS 

No.    285    BROADWAY. 
1853. 


T.    B.    SMITH,    STEREOTYPER,  B.    CRAIGHEAD,    PRIN'TEl 

216  William  Street,  New  York.  53  V< 


L-eeu 


THE 

MORNING    WATCHES 


'  Come  near,  and  blesa  us  when  vre  wake, 
Ere  through  the  world  onr  way  we  take ; 
Till,  in  the  ocean  of  Thy  love, 
We  lose  ourselves  in  heaven  above P 


itfy  Sou 


iiiq 

iieli)  fol-  }[)e  3L01^^ 

WoU 

Ih^fl 

jl)ey  11)^1  iti^icl}  fol- 

Jhe 

lOi^imia!" 

Ps.  oxxx.  6. 

1* 

THE  MORNING  WATCHES. 


This  little  volume  is  designed  to  form,  by  the 
Divine  blessing,  an  humble  auxiliary  in  promoting 
what  is  pronounced  in  the  best  of  all  manuals  of  de- 
votion to  be  "  a  good  thing" — the  showing  forth  of 
God's  "  loving-kindness  in  the  morning]'*  and  His 
"  faithfulness  every  nighf^ — (Ps.  xcii.  2). 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark,  regarding 
the  verse  which  forms  the  key-note  to  each  petition 
— '•'•  O  Lord,  in  the  morning  will  I  direct  my  prayer 
unto  Thee" — that  the  word  "  direct,"  in  the  original 
Hebrew,  may  literally  be  rendered,  "  set  in  order." 
It  refers  to  the  setting  in  order  of  the  wood  for  the 
burnt-sacrifices  in  the  temple  of  old.  While  the 
heart  of  the  believer,  according  to  this  beautiful  al- 
lusion, is  represented  as  a  spiritual  altar,  on  which, 
morning  after  morning,  he  offers  the  oblation  of 
prayer,  this  motto-verse  may  also  serve  as  a  magnet 


VUl  THE  MORNING  WATCHES. 

to  keep  the  eye  fixed,  in  each  successive  petition,  on 
the  great  Antitypical  Sacrifice,  through  whom  alone 
it  is  that  "  the  words  of  our  mouths  and  the  medita- 
tions of  our  hearts"  are  "  acceptable"  in  the  sight  of 
God. 

Though  more  strictly  designed  for  private  devo- 
tion, and  therefore  expressed  in  the  first  person,  it 
is  hoped,  by  the  substitution  of  the  plural  pronoun, 
that  the  following  pages  may  not  be  inappropriate 
for  the  family  altar. 

Deoembea  26,  1861. 


FOR  PARDON  OF  SIN. 

"For  Thy  name's  sake,  O  Lord,  pardon  mine  in- 
iquity ;  for  it  is  great." — Ps.  sxv.  11. 

0  God,  I  bless  Thee  that  Thou  hast  permit- 
ted me  to  lie  down  in  sleep,  and  to  awake  this 
morning  in  safety.  Thou  hast  dispersed  the 
darkness  of  another  night :  may  no  shadow 
of  sin  obscure  the  sunshine  of  Thy  favor  and 
love.  May  the  returning  light  of  day  be  to 
me  the  type  and  emblem  of  that  better  radi- 
ance with  which  Thou  visitest  the  souls  of 
Thy  people,  when  they  are  enabled,  in  Jesus, 
to  behold  a  pardoning  God  seated  on  a  throne 
of  reconciliation  and  grace. 

1  come  to  Thee,  acknowledging  my  trans- 
gressions in  all  their  heinousness.  I  have 
nothing  to  i3lead  in  extenuation.     Warnings 


\ 

iO  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

have  been  abused,  providences  slighted,  grace 
resisted.  Thy  Spirit  grieved.  It  is  of  the 
Lord's  mercies  I  am  not  consumed — that 
Thou  hast  not  long  ere  now  consigned  me, 
with  all  this  load  of  unpardoned  guilt,  to  that 
place  where  pardon  is  unknown. 

But  I  do  rejoice  to  know  that  "  there  is 
forgiveness  with  Thee,  that  Thou  mayest  be 
feared" — that  I  can  bring  my  great  sins  to  a 
great  Saviour.  May  I  be  enabled  to  feel  that 
this  all-glorious  name  of  a  reconciled  God  in 
Christ  is  "  a  strong  tower,"  into  which  I  may 
"  run  and  be  safe."  G-ive  me  grace,  in  self- 
renouncing  lowliness,  to  disown  every  other 
ground  of  confidence  or  hope  of  mercy,  and 
to  cast  myself,  a  broken-hearted,  humbled 
penitent,  at  the  feet  of  Him  on  whom  was  laid 
the  burden  of  all  my  transgressions.  May 
mine  henceforth  be  the  blessedness  of  those 
"  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven,  and  whose 
sins  are  covered."  May  life's  joys  be  sweet- 
ened, and  life's  sorrows  sanctified,  and  life's 
terminating   hour    gladdened,   with  the    as- 


FOR  PAEDON  OF  SEN".  11 

surance,  "I  am  at  peace  with  my  God." 
May  Thy  favor  brighten  every  scene,  and 
the  sweet  sense  of  Thy  reconciling  love 
be  interfused  with  all  my  occupations.  If 
sorrow  should  cloud  or  darken,  may  I  be 
brought  to  feel  that  there  can  be  no  true  sor- 
row or  disquietude  to  the  soul  which  has 
found  its  rest  in  the  finished  work  of  Jesus, 
and  which  has  attained  that  blessed  peace 
here  which  is  the  prelude  of  glory  hereafter. 
Give  me  grace  to  walk  more  closely  with 
Thee  in  the  time  to  come.  Being  forgiven 
much,  may  I  love  Thee  all  the  more.  May 
my  life  be  one  habitual  effort  of  self  and  sin 
crucifixion,  seeking  to  consecrate  my  soul's 
best  energies  to  Him  who  is  willing  to  "  blot 
out  as  a  thick  cloud"  all  my  transgressions. 
Overrule  the  discipline  of  Thy  providence  for 
promoting  within  me  this  death  of  sin,  and 
this  life  of  righteousness.  Amid  earth's  man- 
ifold disquietudes,  its  crosses  and  its  losses, 
enable  me  with  joy  to  look  forward  to  that 
blessed  hour  when  there  shall  be  no  more  sin. 


12  THE  MOKNING   WATCHES. 

and  therefore  no  more  sorrow — when  every 
tear  shall  be  wiped  from  every  eye,  and 
when  I  shall  be  permitted  to  know  all  that 
is  comprehended  in  the  holy  beatitude,  how 
"  blessed"  indeed  are  "  the  pm'e  in  heart," 
who  are  to  "  see  God." 

Direct,  control,  suggest,  this  day,  all  my 
designs,  and  thoughts,  and  actions,  that  every 
power  of  my  body,  and  every  faculty  of  my 
mind,  may  unite  in  devotedness  to  Thy  sole 
service  and  glory.  And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus' 
sake.     Amen. 

"CAUSE  ME  TO  HEAR  THY   LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE    MOENING^ 
FOE   IN  THEE   DO  I  TRUST." 


FOB   BENEWAL   OF   HEABT. 

"Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right 
spirit  -witliin  me." — Pa.  li.  10. 

Almighty  God,  who  hast  mercifully  pre- 
served me  during  the  unconscious  hours  of 
slumber,  I  desire  to  dedicate  my  waking  mo- 
ments and  thoughts  to  Thee.  Do  Thou  pre- 
occupy my  mind  with  hallowed  and  heavenly 
things.  May  I  be  enabled  throughout  this 
day,  by  the  help  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  to  ex- 
clude all  that  is  vain,  and  frivolous,  and  sin- 
ful, and  to  have  my  affections  centred  on 
Thee,  as  my  best  portion  and  chiefest  joy. 
As  Thy  Spirit  of  old  did  brood  over  the  face 
of  the  waters,  may  that  same  blessed  Spirit 
descend  in  all  the  plenitude  of  His  heavenly 
graces,  that  the  gloom  of  a  deeper  moral 


14  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

chaos  may  be  dispersed,  and  that  mine  may 
be  the  beauty  and  happiness  and  gladness  of 
a  soul  that  has  been  transformed  "  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  sin  and 
Satan  unto  God." 

Forbid,  blessed  Lord  !  that  I  should  be 
resting  in  anything  short  of  this  new  creation. 
May  my  old  nature  be  crucified ;  and,  as  one 
alive  from  the  dead,  may  I  "  walk  with  Jesus 
in  newness  of  life."  May  the  new  life  in- 
fused by  Thy  Spirit  urge  me  to  higher  attain- 
ments and  more  heavenly  aspirations.  May 
I  be  enabled  to  see  the  world  in  its  true  light 
— its  pleasures  fading,  its  hopes  delusive,  its 
friendships  perishable.  May  I  be  more  sol- 
emnly and  habitually  impressed  by  the  sur- 
passing magnitude  of  "  the  things  not  seen." 
May  I  give  evidence  of  the  reality  of  a  re- 
newal of  heart  by  a  more  entire  and  con- 
sistent dedication  of  the  life.  May  my  soul 
become  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  may 
"  Holiness  to  the  Lord"  be  its  superscription. 
May  I  be  led  to  feel  that  there  can  be  no  true 


FOK   RENEWAL   OF   HE^^JRT.  15 

joy  but  what  emanates  from  Thyself,  the 
fountain  and  fulness  of  all  joy — the  God  in 
whom  "  all  my  well-springs"  are. 

Whatever  may  be  the  discipline  Thou  art 
employing  for  this  inward  heart-transforma- 
tion, let  me  be  willing  to  submit  to  it.  Let 
me  lie  passive  in  the  arms  of -Thy  mercy, 
saying,  "  Undertake  Thou  for  me."  May  it 
be  mine  to  bear  all,  and  endure  all,  and  re- 
joice in  all — adoring  a  Father's  hand,  and  | 
trusting  a  Father's  faithfulness — feeling  se- 
cure in  a  Father's  tried  love. 

Blessed  Jesus  !  anew  would  I  wash  in  the 
opened  Fountain.  The  new  heart,  like  every  i 
holy  blessing  I  can  ask,  is  the  purchase  of  ; 
that  blood  which  Thou  didst  so  freely  shed. 
May  it  be  sprinkled  on  my  guilty  conscience. 
May  I  know  ever  what  it  is  to  be  living  on  a 
living  Saviour,  bringing  all-emptiness  to  all- 
fulness — the  unworthiness  of  infinite  demerit 
to  the  worthiness  of  all-sufficient,  all-abound- 
ing, grace  and  mercy. 

Do  Thou  shine  upon  my  ways.     May  I  this 


16  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

day  get  nearer  heaven.  May  I  feel  at  its 
close  that  I  have  done  something  for  God — 
something  to  promote  the  great  end  for  which 
existence  was  given  me — the  glory  of  Thy 
holy  name.  Bless  all  my  beloved  friends. 
Unite  us  together  in  bonds  of  holy  fellowship 
here  ;  and  at  last,  in  Thy  presence,  may  we 
be  permitted  to  drink  together  of  the  streams 
of  everlasting  love.  And  all  I  ask  is  for 
Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

"  CATJSJE   ME  TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN  THE  MORNING, 
FOR    IN  THEE   DO   I   TRUST.*' 


FOa   SANCTIFYING   GEACE. 

"I  am  the  Lord  tJiat  doth  sanctify  you." — Exq-d.  xxxi.  13. 

Most  blessed  God,  Thou  hast  permitted  me 
in  Thy  great  goodness  to  see  the  light  of  an- 
other day.  May  I  be  enabled  to  receive 
every  returning  morning  as  a  fresh  token  of 
Thy  love — a  renewal  of  my  lease  of  existence 
— a  fresh  grant  of  mercy  from  the  Author  of 
all  being.  May  I  seek,  this  day,  and  every 
day,  to  consecrate  the  life  spared  by  Thy 
bounty  more  and  more  to  Thy  praise. 

Lord,  I  come  anew  with  my  burden  of  sin. 

It  is  Thy  marvellous  forbearance  that  does 

not  make  every  succeeding  morning  my  last. 

I  bless  Thee  that  there  is  still  the  cleansing 

blood,  the  "  Wonderful  Counsellor,"  the  all- 
2* 


18  THE  MORNING   WATCHES. 

gracious  Spirit.  Give  me  to  know,  ere  I  go 
forth  into  the  world,  what  it  is  to  have  the 
sense  of  Thy  reconciled  love.  Whether  in 
public  or  in  private,  in  the  intercourse  of  life 
or  in  the  seclusion  of  solitude,  may  I  realize 
Thy  presence.  May  it  be  to  me  the  sweetest 
and  most  blessed  of  all  thoughts,  that  a  cov- 
enant God  is  "  compassing  my  path" — that 
by  Him  I  am  defended,  guided,  supported — 
safe  ! 

Heavenly  Father,  it  is  the  unholiness  of  my 
heart  which  mars  the  joys  of  my  communion 
with  Thee.  It  is  my  especial  prayer  that 
Thou  mayest  impart  largely  to  me  of  the 
sanctifying  influences  of  Thy  grace  and  Spirit. 
Let  sin  be  crucified  more  and  more.  Let 
self  be  subjugated  more  and  more.  Under 
the  transforming  power  of  new  affections,  may 
God  become  all  in  all.  May  it  be  mine  to 
know,  in  growing  experience,  the  happiness 
of  true  holiness.  May  I  jealously  avoid  all 
that  is  likely  to  estrange  me  from  Thee,  and 
zealously  cultivate  all  that  is  calculated  to 


FOB  SAlTCTIFYINa  GRACE,  19 

draw  me  nearer  towards  Thee.  "  Thy  favor 
is  life" — O  show  me  that  to  lose  Thy  favor  is 
death  indeed  ! 

This  blessed  work  of  inward  sanctification 
is  Thine.  Alas  !  I  feel  my  constant  prone- 
ness  to  wander  from  Thee,  and  to  seek  my 
happiness  in  the  perishable.  My  best  resolu- 
tions, how  frail !  my  warmest  affections,  how 
languid  and  lukewarm !  my  hoKest  moments, 
how  distracted  with  vain  thoughts  and  worldly 
cares  ! — my  whole  life,  how  stained  with  sin ! 
But  do  Thou  strengthen  me  with  all  might, 
by  Thy  Spirit,  in  the  inner  man.  My  daily 
cry  would  be,  "  More  grace  !  more  grace  !" 
There  is  no  sufficiency  in  myself ;  but  hast 
Thou  not  promised  to  make  Thy  grace  suffi- 
cient ?  May  I  make  it  my  grand  ambition  to 
be  marking,  day  by  day,  my  Zionward  pro- 
gress— my  growing  conformity  to  the  holy 
character  of  a  holy  God. 

For  this  end,  overrule  all  the  dispensations 
of  Thy  providence.  May  I  hear  a  voice  in 
each  of  them  proclaiming,  "  Be  holy."    May 


20  THE  MOENINO  WATCHES. 

I  be  led  to  bear  them  all,  and  to  rejoice  in 
them  all,  if  they  thus  be  the  means  of  l3ring- 
ing  me  nearer  Thyself. 

I  commend  to  Thy  fatherly  protection  all 
my  beloved  friends,  and  all  for  whom  I  ought 
to  pray.  "  Sanctify  them  through  Thy 
truth."  May  they  all  be  presented  unblama- 
ble before  Thee  in  the  day  of  Christ's  ap- 
pearing. 

And  may  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  and  fel- 
lowship of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  me  now 
and  ever.     Amen. 

"cause    MK   to    hear   thy    LOVma-KINDNESS    IN    THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO    I  TRUST." 


FOR   SUPPORT   IN   TEMPTATION. 

"Hold  Thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  "be  safe." — Ps.  cxix.  117. 

Most  gracious  God,  give  me  grace  to  begin 
a  new  morning  with  Thee.  Ere  entering  on 
the  world,  I  invoke  Thy  blessing.  Before  I 
hear  the  voice  of  earthly  friend,  or  mingle  in 
earthly  society,  may  I  have  a  aonscious  filial 
nearness  to  Thee,  my  Father  in  heaven.  O 
Thou  better,  tenderer,  dearer  than  all  on 
earth,  give  me  the  sweet  assurance  of  Thy 
presence  and  favor.  With  this,  all  the  day's 
joys  will  be  joys  indeed — with  this,  the  sting 
will  be  extracted  from  the  day's  sorrows.  In 
q[uiet  confidence  I  will  repose  on  Thy  cov- 
enant faithfulness.  I  need  no  other  benedic- 
tion, Lord,  if  I  have  Thine.    Other  portions 


22  THE  MOENma  WATCHES. 

may  fail  me,  but  I  am  independent  of  all,  if 
"  Thou  art  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my 
portion  forever." 

I  adore  and  bless  Thy  holy  name  for  every 
past  token  of  Thy  kindness  and  forbearance. 
The  retrospect  of  life  is  a  retrospect  of  love. 
I  am  a  wonder  to  myself  that  Thou  hast 
spared  me — that  mercy  is  remembered  when 
nothing  but  wrath  is  deserved.  "  Unless  the 
Lord  had  been  my  help,  my  soul  had  long 
ere  now  dwelt  in  silence." 

On  that  same  arm  I  would  desire  still  to 
lean.  I  am  compassed  about  with  a  great 
fight  of  afflictions,  and  the  sorest  and  saddest 
of  all  are  my  sins.  But  I  fly  to  Thee,  thou 
helper  of  the  helpless.  Give  me  to  know 
what  it  is  to  dismiss  all  my  own  guilty  mis- 
givings, and  to  rest  my  simj^le  faith  on  a  tried 
Redeemer.  It  is  mistrust  of  Him  that  has 
been  the  cause  of  many  a  bygone  fall.  I 
have  been  dwelling  more  on  the  strength  of 
my  temptations  than  on  the  strength  of  my 
Saviour.     O  "  hold  Thou  me  up,  blessed  Je- 


FOR   SUPPORT   IN   TEMPTATION.  23 

sus  !  and  I  shall  be  safe."  Whenever  in  the 
way  of  sin,  give  me  to  realize  the  all-suf- 
ciency  of  Thy  grace.  May  every  hurricane 
of  temptation  drive  me  more  under  the  shel- 
ter of  the  Eocb.  May  the  loss  of  every 
earthly  prop  lead  me  to  Thyself— the  only 
abiding  refuge.  No  step  in  the  wilderness- 
journey  would  I  take  without  Thee.  No  loss 
would  I  mourn  when  sustained  at  Thy  bid- 
ding. No  enemy  would  I  fear  if  Thou  art 
on  my  side.  Hold  Thou  me  up,  and  then  in- 
deed I  shall  be  safe — safe  for  time — safe  for 
eternity. 

And  the  same  support  I  ask  for  myself,  I 
beseech  Thee  to  vouchsafe  to  all  near  and 
dear  to  me.  May  the  Lord  God  be  tlieir 
"  sun  and  shield."  May  they  experience  no 
temptation  "  above  what  they  are  able  to 
bear ;"  or,  with  the  temptation,  grant  them 
grace  that  they  may  be  able  to  bear  it.  And 
when  all  earthly  dangers,  and  toils,  and  trials 
are  over,  may  we  all  be  enabled  to  meet  in 
glory,  and  trace  there,  Avith  adoring  gratitude 


24:  THE  MOENING  WATCHES. 

and    joy,   the    way    in    which    Thy  mercy 
through  life  "  has  held  us  up." 

Anew  I  commend  myself,  body  and  soul, 
to  Thee  this  day.  For  Thy  dear  Son's  sake, 
forgive  all  my  sins.  My  sole  trust  is  in  the 
atoning  blood.  May  I  feel  this  to  be  the  best 
preservative  against  temptation  and  sin,  that 
all  I  am,  and  all  I  have,  is  not  my  own,  but 
belongs  to  the  Lord  who  died  for  me.  Hear 
these  my  unworthy  supplications,  and  grant 
me  an  answer  in  peace,  for  His  sake.     Amen. 

*  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS   IN    THE    MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE    DO   I   TRUST." 


liftlr    llarniitg. 

FOR   HELP    IN   TROUBLE. 

"  Ttiougb.  I  walk  in  the  midst  of  troulDle,  Thou  wilt  re- 
vive me." — Ps.  cxxxviii.  7. 

Most  blessed  Lord,  who  hast  again  permit- 
ted me  to  approach  a  throne  of  grace,  do 
Thou  this  day  shine  into  my  heart.  Anew 
may  I  enter  on  another  day's  duties  and 
trials,  with  a  soul  calm  and  peaceful  amid  all 
other  disquietudes,  by  being  at  peace  with 
Thee. 

I  bless  Thee  that  I  can  ever  "  sing  of  mercy" 
as  well  as  of  "  judgment."  Thy  dealings 
might  have  been  all  in  unmixed  wrath,  but 
the  severest  of  them  are  tempered  with 
gracious  love.  O  that  they  may  have  their 
designed  effect  of  driving  me  to  the  only  true 


26  THE   MORNING    WATCHES. 

rest  for  the  soul,  in  the  bosom  of  its  God  ! 
May  the  breaking  of  cistern  by  cistern  only 
endear  to  me  the  more  the  great  Fountain- 
head. 

How  often  dost  Thou  send  tribulations,  that 
Thy  people  may  see  more  of  Thy  gracious 
hand !  How  often,  when  the  waters  are 
troubled,  do  we  recognize  the  presence  of  the 
great  Covenant-angel  himself,  and  experience 
the  plenitude  of  His  upholding  grace  and 
mercy !  Lord,  my  earnest  prayer  is,  that 
every  trial  may  serve  to  unfold  to  me  more  of 
the  preciousness  of  Jesus.  As  prop  by  prop, 
which  was  wont  to  support  me  on  earth,  may 
be  giving  way,  may  I  know  what  it  is  to  lean 
my  whole  weight  iijpon  Him,  and  leave  my 
whole  case  with  Him,  repairing  to  Him  as 
the  friend  that  "  sticketh  closer  than  any 
])rother" — into  His  sympathizing  bosom  to 
confide  my  every  want — from  His  inexhaust- 
ible treasury  to  draw  every  consolation — and 
on  His  upholding  arm  confidingly  and  habit- 
ually to  rest. 


FOR   HELP    IN   TROUBLE.  27 

What,  O  blessed  Saviour,  are  my  troubles 
to  Thine  !  What  are  my  bitterest  tears  and 
most  aching  heart  in  comparison  with  what 
Thou  didst  so  freely  endure  for  me  !  May 
the  remembrance  of  this  Thy  fellowship  in 
my  suffering,  and  my  fellowship  in  Thine^ 
reconcile  me  patiently  to  endure  whatsoever 
Thou  seest  meet  to  lay  upon  me.  Give  me 
grace  ever  to  see  that  my  bitterest  trial  is  my 
sin,  that  my  heaviest  cross  is  the  cross  of  my  ] 
wandering  treatjherous  heart.  When  I  think 
of  that  blessed  time  when  God  shall  termi- 
nate the  tears  of  a  weeping  world,  may  this 
be  my  loftiest  ground  of  rejoicing — that  there  | 
will  be  then  no  more  sin  to  cause  them. 

Humbly  I  would  lie  at  my  Saviour's  feet, 
disowning  all  trust  save  in  Him — exulting  in 
His  finished  work,  and  meritorious  righteous- 
ness, and  all-prevalent  intercession.  I  rejoice 
to  think  of  the  redeemed  multitude  before 
His  throne,  "  whom  no  man  can  number," 
and  to  feel  that  His  ability  and  willingness 
"  to  save  unto  the  uttermost"  are  still  the  same. 


28  THE   MOKNING   WATCHES. 

Command,  O  Lord,  thj  richest  blessing  this 
day  on  all  whom  I  love.  May  all  my  rela- 
tives be  related  to  Thee  in  the  common  bonds 
of  the  gospel.  Though  separated  by  distance 
from  each  other  on  life's  highway,  may  we 
enjoy  the  consolation  that  we  are  all  tread- 
ing the  same  invisible  road  Zionward — that 
earth's  dearest  and  tenderest  ties  will,  at  the 
end  of  the  chequered  journey,  be  strengthened 
and  perpetuated  in  the  full  vision  and  fruition 
of  Thee  our  God. 

May  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  fellowship  and  commu- 
nion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  me  this  day 
and  ever.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE   MB   TO    HEAR   THY   LOVINO-KINDNESS     IN     THE     MORNING, 
FOR   IN  THEE   DO  I   TRUST." 


FOR    COMFORT   IN   BEREAVEMENT. 

"Turn  Thee  unto  nae,  and  have  mercy  upon  me,  for  I 
am  desolate  and  afflicted." — Ps.  xxv.  16. 

O  God,  I  come  to  Thee  this  morning,  re- 
joicing in  the  simple  but  sublime  assurance 
that  "  the  Lord  reigneth."  Thy  judgments 
are  often  "  a  great  deep."  May  it  be  mine 
ever  to  own  Thy  sovereignty,  and  to  rest  sat- 
isfied with  the  assurance,  "  Be  hath  done  all 
things  well." 

It  is  indeed  my  oomfort  to  know  that  "  my 
times"  are  not  in  my  own  hands,  but  in  Thine. 
When  in  vain  I  seek  to  explain  the  mystery 
of  Thy  inscrutable  doings,  may  I  be  enabled 
implicitly  to  trust  Thine  unswerving  rectitude 
and  faithfulness.  The  kindest  and  best  of 
earthly  parents  may  err — they  may  be  be- 


30  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

trayed  into  unnecessary  harsliness  and  sever- 
ity— but  Thou,  O  unerring  Parent,  wilt  not, 
and  canst  not  inflict  one  unneeded  stroke.  I 
can  own  Thy  wisdom  where  I  cannot  discern 
it.  I  can  trust  the  footsteps  of  love  where  I 
cannot  trace  them. 

I  look  back  with  adoring  wonder  on  all  Thy 
marvellous  dealings  towards  me  in  the  past. 
"When  my  foot  slipped.  Thy  mercy,  O  Lord, 
held  me  up."  How  many  tear-drops  have 
been  dried  by  Thee  !  How  many  sorrows 
have  been  soothed  by  Thee!  How  many 
dangers  have  been  averted  by  Thee !  In- 
stead of  wondering  at  my  trials,  I  have 
rather  reason  to  marvel  at  Thy  forbearance. 
What  are  my  heavkst  afflictions  in  compar- 
ison with  the  deserts  of  sin  ?  Lord,  if  they 
had  been  in  proportion  to  my  guilt,  I  could 
not  have  had  one  hour  of  joy. 

Give  me  grace  not  only  to  bear  all,  and  to 
endure  all,  but  to  glory  in  all  which  Thy 
chastening  love  sees  meet  to  appoint.  Afflic- 
tion is  Thine  own  appointed  training-school 


FOB  COMFORT  IN  BEREAVEMENT.      31 


&5 


for  immortality.  If  I  need  such  training 
Lord,  withhold  it  not.  Eather  subject  me  to 
the  severest  ordeal  of  fatherly  discipline,  than 
leave  me  to  vex  Thee  more  with  my  guilty 
departures  and  backsliding.  I  will  confide 
in  the  tenderness  of  Thy  dealings — that  Thou 
wilt  conduct  me  by  no  rougher  path  than  is 
really  needful.  Thou  hast  given  Thy  Son  for 
me !  After  such  a  pledge  of  Thy  love,  may 
it  never  be  mine  to  breathe  one  murmuring 
word. 

For  all  in  sorrow.  Lord,  I  pray  that  they 
may  take  their  sorrows  to  the  "  Man  of  sor- 
rows." May  they  be  willing  to  forget  their 
own  light  afflictions  as  they  behold  His  bleed- 
ing wounds.  Blessed  God,  what  a  source  of 
joy  to  the  whole  family  of  the  afflicted,  that 
the  exalted  Head  and  elder  brother  has  Him- 
self tasted  sorrow's  bitterest  cup !  Lord  Je- 
sus, Thou  who  hast  suffered  so  much  for  me, 
grant  that  by  patience  and  unrepining  sub- 
mission I  may  be  enabled  to  "  glorify  thee  in 
the  fires." 


32  THE'-MOENING   WATCHES. 

All  my  beloved  friends  I  commit  to  Thy 
care.  May  the  Lord  be  their  everlasting  por- 
tion. Forbid  that  I  should  have  to  mom-n  in 
them  what  would  be  bitterer  than  the  pang 
of  all  earthly  bereavement — that  they  are  be- 
reft of  Thy  favor.  Make  them  Thine,  and  in 
the  midst  of  life's  vicissitudes  and  changes, 
may  we  all  look  forward  to  that  better  time, 
and  that  better  world,  where  sorrow  and 
sighing  shall  forever  flee  away.  And  all  I 
ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

**  CAUSE   MB   TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN   THE   MOENING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOR    LIGHT    IN    DARKNESS. 

"Unto  the  apright  there  ariaeth  light  in  the  darkness." 
— Ps.  cxii.  4. 

Eternal,  everlasting  God,  I  bless  Thee  for 
the  privilege  of  access  into  Thy  presence. 
What  am  I — a  guilty,  unworthy  sinner,  de- 
serving only  of  condemnation — that  I  should 
be  permitted,  with  holy  boldness,  to  approach 
the  footstool  of  Thy  throne,  and  call  Thee 
"  my  Father  in  heaven  !" 

I  rejoice  to  know,  when  "  my  heart  is  over- 
whelmed, and  in  perplexity,"  that  I  can 
ever  look  unto  Thee  as  a  "  Rock  that  is  higher 
than  I" — that,  amid  all  the  ebbings  and  flow- 
ings  in  the  tide  of  my  own  fitful  frames  and 
feelings.  Thou,  great  Rock  of  ages,  remainest 
fixed  and  immovable.    Thou  hast  never  failed 


34  THE  MORNING   WATCHES. 

me  in  the  past.  "When  "  deep  has  been  call- 
ing to  deep,"  and  many  "waves  and  billows 
have  gone  over  me,"  ''  the  Lord  has  com- 
manded His  loving-kindness  in  the  day-time, 
and  in  the  night  His  song  has  been  with  me, 
and  my  prayer  nnto  the  God  of  my  life." 
And  I  will  trust  Thee  in  the  future.  In  the 
midst  of  baffling  and  mysterious  providences 
I  will  be  still — hushing  every  murmur,  and 
breathing  in  lowly  resignation  the  prayer, 
"  divinely  taught,"  "  Thy  will  be  done." 

It  is  my  comfort  to  know  that  the  darkest 
cloud  is  fringed  with  covenant  love.  I  can 
repose  on  the  blessed  assurance  thsit present 
discipline  is  needed  discipline,  and  that  all 
which  is  mystery  now  will  be  cleared  up  here- 
after. May  it  be  mine  cheerfully  to  follow 
the  footsteps  of  the  guiding  Shepherd  through 
the  darkest,  loneliest  road,  and  amidst  thick- 
ening sorrows  may  I  have  grace  to  say, 
''  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in 
Him." 

Lord,  increase  my  faith — let  it  rise  above 


FOE   LIGHT   IN   DARKNESS. 


all  difficulties  and  all  trials.  Let  these  drive 
me  closer  to  Him  who  has  promised  to  make 
me  "  more  than  conqueror."  Let  them 
quicken  my  longings  for  the  true  home  of 
my  soul  above.  May  it  be  my  grand  am- 
bition here  to  be  a  "pilgrim"  in  everything 
— to  be  pitching  my  tent  day  by  day  nearer 
heaven,  imbibing  every  day  more  of  the  pil- 
grim character,  and  longing  more  for  the  pil- 
grim's rest.  May  I  be  enabled  to  say,  with 
an  increasingly  chastened  spirit,  of  a  passing 
world,  "Here  I  have  no  continuing  city." 
May  this  assurance  dry  all  tears,  and  recon- 
cile to  all  sorrows — "  I  am  journeying  unto 
the  place  of  which  the  Lord  hath  said,  I  will 
give  it  you." 

Blessed  Jesus,  hasten  Thy  coming  and  Thy 
kingdom.  Scatter  the  darkness  which  is  now 
covering  heathen  nations.  Stand  by  Thy 
missionary  servants.  May  they  exercise  a 
simple  faith  on  Thine  own  sure  word  of  prom- 
ise. "  Strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power 
of  His  might,"  may  every  mountain  of  diffi- 


36  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

culty  be  made  a  plain,  and  "  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  be  revealed." 

God  of  Bethel,  I  commend  to  Thee  all  my 
beloved  friends.  Shield  them  by  Thy  pro- 
tecting providence.  Give  them  every  needed 
blessing  in  the  present  life,  and  in  the  world 
to  come  life  everlasting.  And  all  I  ask  is  for 
Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE    MORNING, 
FOR    IN    THEE    DO    I    TRUST," 


FOB   HOPE  IN   DISCOUBAGEMENT. 

"■Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul,  and  -why  art 
thou  disquieted  within  me?      Hope  thou  in  God." — Ps. 

xliii.  5. 

O  God,  in  Thine  infinite  rnercy  Thou  hast 
again  spared  me  to  approach  Thy  blessed 
presence.  May  each  morning  find  me  better 
prepared  for  the  glorious  waking-time  of  im- 
mortality, when  "  the  day  shall  break,"  and 
earth's  shadows  shall  forever  "  flee  away." 
May  I  seek  to  rise  this  day  in  newness  of  life, 
breathing  more  of  the  atmosphere  of  holi- 
ness, and  partaking  more  of  the  character  of 
heaven. 

Thou  art  ever,  by  the  salutary  dispensa- 
tions of  Thy  providence,  reminding  me  that 
"earth  is  not  my  rest."  It  is  well,  Lord, 
4 


38  THE   MORNINa   WATCHES. 

that  it  should  be  so ;  that,  by  Thine  own 
gracious  and  needed  discipline,  the  world  be 
disarmed  of  its  insinuating  power,  and  I  be 
weaned  from  what  is  precarious  at  the  best, 
and  which  ultimately  must  perish. 

O  my  God,  I  feel  heavily  burdened  by 
reason  of  sin.  I  mourn  my  guilty  proneness 
to  temptation.  How  anything  and  every- 
thing seems  often  enough  to  drive  me  from 
Thee,  and  to  lead  me  to  seek  my  happiness 
in  created  good,  rather  than  in  Thyself,  the 
infinite  fountain  of  all  excellence !  How 
sad  have  been  my  backslidings ! — how  have 
solemn  vows  been  broken  ! — how  have  aban- 
doned and  forsworn  sins  threatened  again  to 
have  dominion  over  me  !  How  little  tender- 
ness of  conscience  has  there  been  ! — how  lit- 
tle dread  of  an  uneven  walk !  How  often, 
on  the  heart  which  I  have  consecrated  to 
Thee  as  an  altar  for  the  perpetual  sacrifice  of 
praise,  and  gratitude,  and  love,  has  there 
been  burning  incense  to  strange  gods  ! 

Lord,  when  I  look  to  my  inner  self,  I  have 


FOB  HOPE  IN  DISCOURAGEMENT  39 

good  cause  indeed  for  misgivings  and  despon- 
dency. Conscience  repeats,  over  and  over 
again,  a  sentence  of  condemnation,  and  I 
have  naught  to  extenuate  my  guilt  or  palliate 
my  sin.  Whitlier  can  I  flee  ?  Where  can  I 
look  but  to  Thee,  O  Lamb  of  God,  thou  sin- 
bearing  and  sin-forgiving  Saviour ! 

Enable  me  to  be  living  more  from  moment 
to  moment  on  Thy  grace — to  rely  on  thy 
guiding  arm  with  more  childlike  confidence 
— to  look  with  a  more  simple  faith  to  Thy 
finished  work,  disowning  all  trust  in  my  own 
doings,  and  casting  myself,  as  a  poor  needy 
pensioner,  on  the  bounty  of  Him  who  hath 
done  all,  and  suffered  all,  and  endured  all, 
for  me.  Thus  relying  on  the  unseen  arm  of  a 
covenant-God,  when  the  hour  of  darkness  and 
discouragement  overtakes  me — when  trials 
multiply,  and  comforts  fail,  and  streams  of 
earthly  blessing  are  dried  up — may  I  have 
what  compensates  for  the  loss  of  all,  "  Thy 
favor,  which  is  life,  and  Thy  loving-kindness, 
which  is  better  than  life."     "  I  will  go  in  the 


40  THE  MORNING  WATCHES. 

strength  of  the  Lord  God."  "Though  he 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him." 

Be  the  God  of  all  near  and  dear  to  me. 
May  all  my  relatives  be  able  to  claim  a 
spiritual  relationship  with  Thee,  that  so  those 
earthly  bonds  of  attachment,  which  sooner  or 
later  must  snap  asunder  here,  may  be  re- 
newed and  perpetuated  before  the  throne. 

Compassionate  all  who  are  in  sorrow.  Com- 
fort the  feeble-minded.  May  "the  joy  of 
the  Lord  be  their  strength."  May  valuable 
lives  be  prolonged.  May  those  appointed 
imto  death  be  prepared  for  their  great  change. 
And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.    Amen. 

"cause  me  to  hear  thy  loving-kindness  in  the  moening, 

FOR  IN  thee   do  I  TRUST." 


FOR    WISDOM    IN    PERPLEXITY. 

"  Cause  me  to  kno'w  tlie  ■way  ■wlierein  I  should  "walk,  foi 
I  lift  up  ray  soul  unto  Thee." — Ps.  cxliii.  8. 

0  ETEENAL  Lord,  whose  nature  and  whose 
name  is  love,  I  bless  Thee  that  I  am  again 
invited  into  Thy  presence.  "What  am  I,  that 
I  should  be  permitted  to  speak  to  the  infinite 
God  !  I  might  have  been  left  through  eter- 
nity a  monument  of  Thy  righteous  vengeance. 
I  might  have  known  Thee  only  as  "  the  con- 
suming fire."  But  "  Thy  ways  are  not  as 
man's  ways;"  mercy  is  remembered  when 
wrath  might  have  come  upon  me  to  the  utter- 
most. 

1  desire  to  begin  this  day,  blessing  and 

praising  Thee  for  "Thine  unspeakable  gift," 

Jesus  the  Son  of  Thy  love.    Adored  be  Thy 
4* 


42  THE  MOENING   WATCHES. 

name,  that  the  guilt  of  my  sin,  which  the 
holiness  of  Thy  law  could  not  suffer  other- 
wise to  be  cancelled,  has  to  Him  been  trans- 
ferred— that,  as  the  scape-goat  of  His  people. 
He  has  borne  the  mighty  load  into  the  land 
of  oblivion,  ne-ver  more  to  be  remembered. 
May  I  be  enabled  to  show  forth  my  lively 
grattitude  to  Thee  for  this  wondrous  token  of 
Thy  love,  not  only  by  lip-homage,  but  by 
heart  and  life  devotion.  Sanctify  and  seal 
me  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit ;  and  present  me 
at  last  "  faultless  before  the  presence  of  Thy 
glory  with  exceeding  joy." 

O  my  God,  I  rejoice  to  know  that  my  in- 
terests for  time  and  eternity  are  confided  to 
Thy  keeping.  Though  often  "wonderful  in 
counsel,"  Thou  art  ever  "  excellent  in  work- 
ing." Thou  art  "  God  only  wise" — "  right- 
eous in  all  Thy  ways,  and  holy  in  all  Thy 
works."  I  commit  my  way  and  my  doings 
unto  Thee.  "  Hold  Thou  me  up,  and  I  shall 
be  safe."  May  I  trust  Thy  wisdom  and  faith- 
fulness, even  amid  crosses,  and  losses,  and 


FOR   WISDOM   IN   PERPLEXITY. 


43 


frowning  providences.  Make  them  all  work 
together  for  my  good. 

If  my  path  be  in  any  way  now  hedged  up 
with  thorns,  "  undertake  Thou  for  me." 
"  Guide  me  with  Thy  counsel."  Let  me  take 
no  step,  and  engage  in  no  plan,  unsanctioned 
by  Thine  approval.  Let  it  be  my  grand  aim 
and  ambition,  in  all  the  changes  of  a  chang- 
ing life,  to  hear  Thy  directing  voice,  saying, 
"  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it ;"  and  then 
shall  all  life's  trials  be  sweetened,  and  life's 
burden  lightened,  by  knowing  that  they  are 
the  appointment  of  infinite  wisdom  and  un- 
changing love,  and  that,  though  man  may 
err,  God  never  can. 

May  Thy  Holy  Spirit  lead  me  this  day  into 
all  the  truth.  May  all  its  duties  be  pervaded 
by  the  leavening  power  of  vital  godliness. 
While  in  the  world,  may  I  seek  to  feel  and 
to  exhibit  that  I  am  not  of  it.  May  I  give 
evidence,  in  my  walk  and  conversation,  of  a 
renewed  nature,  and  of  a  nobler  destiny. 
Hasten,  blessed  Jesus,  Thy  coming  and  Thy 


4:4  THE   MOKNING   WATCHES. 

kingdom.  "How  long  shall  tlie  wicked 
triumph  ?"  "  Save  Thy  people  and  bless 
Thine  inheritance ;  feed  them  also,  and  lift 
them  Tip  forever." 

Let  the  voice  of  salvation  be  heard  in  the 
households  of  all  I  love.  May  theirs  be  the 
dwellings  of  the  righteous.  May  this  be 
their  name,  "  The  Lord  is  there."  May  they 
know  Him  who  hath  said,  "  I  will  never  leave 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee." 

And  "now.  Lord,  what  wait  I  for?  my 
hope  is  in  Thee."  Hear  and  answer  these  un- 
worthy supplications,  for  Jesus'  sake.    Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS  IN   THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN  THEE   DO  I  TRUST." 


FOR   STRENGTH  IN   WEAKNESS. 

My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." — 2  Cor.  xii.  9. 

O  THOU  high  and  mighty  God,  inhabiting 
eternity,  do  Thou  draw  near  unto  a  poor  un- 
worthy sinner,  who  ventures  anew  this  morn- 
ing to  approach  the  footstool  of  Thy  throne. 
Vouchsafe  me  now  the  gracious  aids  of  Thy 
gracious  Spirit,  that  out  of  much  weakness  I 
may  be  made  strong.  It  is  Thine  own  gra- 
cious assurance,  that  "  they  that  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength."  I 
would  rely  on  the  faithfulness  of  a  promising 
God.  May  my  own  utter  emptiness  drive 
me  to  all  fulness.  May  my  own  conscious 
weakness  wean  me  from  all  earthly  props, 
and  confidences,  and  refuges,  to  "  abide  un- 
der the  shadow  of  the  Almighty." 


46  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

Lord,  I  confess  this  day  with  shame  and 
confusion  of  face  my  manifold  infirmities, 
my  coldness  and  lukewarmness,  my  distrust 
of  Thy  providence,  my  insensibility  to  Thy 
love,  my  murmuring  at  Thy  dealings,  my 
tampering  with  sin,  my  resisting  of  Thy 
grace.  How  often,  like  the  slender  reed, 
have  I  bent  before  the  blast  of  temptation, 
my  best  resolutions  proving  "  as  the  morning 
cloud  and  early  dew !" 

And  yet,  gracious  Father,  Thou  hast  not 
broken  "the  bruised  reed" — Thou  hast  not 
"  quenched  the  smoking  flax."  I  am  here 
this  morning  a  marvel  to  myself  that  Thou 
art  still  sparing  me.  "  Thy  ways  are  not  as 
man's  ways."  Had  it  been  so.  Thou  wonldst 
long  since  have  grown  weary.  But  it  is  uLc 
prerogative  of  the  everlasting  God  that  "  He 
fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary."  Thou  art 
this  morning  giving  me  fresh  grants  of  mercy, 
renewed  proofs  and  tokens  of  unmerited  love. 
I  am  receiving  "  at  the  Lord's  hand  double 
for  all  my  sins." 


FOR  STRENGTH   IN   AVEAKNESS.  47 

I  rejoice  to  Imow,  blessed  Jesus,  tliat  it  is 
Thy  burdened  ones  Thou  hast  specially  prom- 
ised "  gently  to  lead."  Thou  wilt  conduct 
me  by  no  rougher  road  than  is  necessary. 
"  Undertake  Thou  for  me."  May  the  wilder- 
ness journey  be  this  day  resumed  and  re- 
newed with  a  more  simple,  and  childlike,  and 
habitual  leaning  on  Thee.  Do  Thou  put  this 
new  song  into  my  mouth,  "  The  Lord  is  my 
rock,  and  my  fortress,  and  my  deliverer ;  my 
God,  my  strength,  in  whom  I  will  trust." 
Say  unto  me,  in  the  midst  of  my  weakness, 
"Fear  not,  thou  worm  Jacob."  With  the 
pillar  of  Thy  presence  ever  before  me,  "  I 
will  go  from  strength  to  strength." 

Keep  me  this  day  from  sin.  May  no  evil 
thoughts,  or  vain  imaginings,  or  deceitful 
lusts,  obtrude  on  my  walk  with  God.  May 
an  affecting  sense  of  how  frail  I  am,  keej)  me 
near  the  atoning  sacrifice.  May  the  ''  horns 
of  the  altar"  ever  be  in  sight.  Blessed  Je- 
sus, my  helpless  soul  would  hang  every  mo- 
ment upon  Thee. 


48  THE  MOENING  WATCHES. 

Look  down  in  Thy  kindness  on  all  connect- 
ed with  me  by  ties  of  earthly  kindred.  May 
the  blessing  of  the  God  of  Bethel  rest  on 
every  heart  and  household  I  love.  May  we 
all  be  journeying  Zionwards,  and  be  so 
weaned  from  earth  as  to  feel  that  Zionwards 
is  homewards.  If  pursuing  different  paths, 
and  separated,  it  may  be,  far  from  one  an- 
other, may  the  journey  have  one  blessed  and 
happy  termination.  May  we  meet  in  glory, 
and  meet  with  Thee.  And  all  I  ask  is  for 
the  Redeemer's  sake.    Amen. 

"cause  me  to  hear  thy  lOving-kindness  in  the  morning, 

FOR   IN  thee   do   I   trust." 


FOR   GRATITUDE   FOR    MERCIES. 

"  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  His  henefita 
towards  me  ?" — Ps.  cxvi.  12. 

O  God,  I  adore  Thee  as  the  Author  and 
Giver  of  every  good  and  every  perfect  gift. 
Thou  art  daily  loading  me  with  Thy  benefits. 
Every  returning  morning  brings  with  it  fresh 
causes  for  gratitude — new  material  for  praise. 
I  bless  Thee  for  Thy  temporal  bounties — 
"  how  great  has  been  the  sum  of  them !" 
While  others  have  been  pining  in  poverty,  or 
wasted  by  sickness,  or  racked  in  pain,  or  left 
friendless  and  portionless.  Thou  hast  been 
making  showers  of  blessing  to  fall  around  my 
dwelling.  I  laid  me  down  last  night  and 
slept — I  awaked,  for  the  Lord  sustained  me. 
I  might  never  have  seen  the  morning  light. 
5 


50  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

Mine  miglit  have  been  the  midnight  sum- 
mons to  meet  a  God  in  whose  righteous  pres- 
ence I  was  all  unmeet  and  unprepared  to 
stand.  And  yet  I  am  again  spared  a  monu- 
ment of  Thy  goodness.  Oh,  do  Thou  enkin- 
dle a  flame  of  undying  gratitude  to  Thee,  on 
the  clay-cold  altar  of  my  heart.  I  mourn  and 
lament  that  I  am  so  little  and  so  feebly  af- 
fected by  the  magnitude  of  Thy  mercies,  and 
especially  by  the  riches  of  Thy  grace  and 
love  manifested  in  Jesus ; — that  my  affec- 
tions are  so  little  alive  to  the  incalculable 
obligation  under  which  I  am  laid  to  Him 
who  hath  "  loved  me  with  an  everlasting 
love."  I  am  doubly  Thine.  Creation  and 
redemption  combine  in  claiming  all  I  am,  and 
all  I  have,  for  Thee  and  Thy  service.  Good 
Lord,  preserve  me  from  the  sin  of  insensibil- 
ity to  Thine  unwearied  kindness — of  taking 
Thy  mercies  as  matters  of  course,  and  thus 
living  in  a  state  of  independence  of  Thee. 
May  my  whole  existence  become  a  sacrifice 
of  praise  and  thanksgiving — may  all  my  do- 


FOR   GRATITUDE   FOR   MERCIES.  51 

ings  testify  the  sincerity  and  devotion  of  a 
heart  feelingly  alive  to  every  gift  of  the  great 
Giver  ;  and,  especially,  may  I  be  so  brought 
under  the  constraining  influence  of  redeem- 
ing love,  as  to  consecrate  every  power  of  my 
body  and  every  faculty  of  my  soul  to  Him 
who  so  willingly  consecrated  and  shed  His 
very  life's  blood  for  me. 

Lord,  this  day  shine  upon  me  with  tlie  light 
of  Thy  countenance  ;  may  every  mercy  I  ex- 
perience in  the  course  of  it  be  hallowed  and 
sweetened  by  the  thought  that  it  comes  from 
God.  And,  while  ever  mindful  and  thankful 
in  the  midst  of  present  mercies,  teach  me  to 
keep  in  view  the  crowning  mercy  of  all — the 
hope  of  at  last  sharing  Thy  presence  and  full 
fruition,  and  of  joining  in  the  eternal  ascrip- 
tion with  the  ransomed  multitude  above,  who 
cease  not  day  nor  night  to  celebrate  Thy 
praises. 

Bless  all  near  and  dear  to  me.  Defend 
them  by  Thy  mighty  power.  Give  tliem^  too, 
gratitude  for  mercies  past,  and  the  sure  and 


52  THE  MORNING  WATCHES. 

well-grounded  hope  of  a  glorious  inheritance 
in  that  better  world,  where  mercy  is  unmixed 
with  judgment,  and  joy  undarkened  by  sor- 
row.  And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.   Amen. 

"  CAUSE   ME  TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN   THE  MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOR   CRUCIFIXION    OF    SIN. 

"I  die  daily."— 1  Cor.  sv.  31. 

Heavenly  Father,  who  hast  permitted  me, 
in  Thy  great  mercy,  to  see  the  light  of  an- 
other day,  enable  me  to  begin  and  to  end  it 
with  Thee.  Let  all  my  thoughts,  and  pur- 
poses, and  actions  have  the  superscription 
written  on  them — "  Holiness  to  the  Lord." 

Give  me  to  know  the  blessedness  of  recon- 
ciliation— what  it  is,  as  a  sinner,  and  the 
chief  of  sinners,  to  come  "just  as  I  am,  with- 
out one  plea," to  that  blood  "which  cleanseth 
from  all  sin."  I  desire  to  take  hold  of  the 
sublime  assurance,  that  Jesus  is  "  able  to  save 
unto  the  uttermost" — that  He  has  left  noth- 
ing for  me  as  a  suppliant  at  Thy  throne — a 
5* 


54  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

pensioner  on  Thy  bounty — but  to  accept  all 
as  the  gift  and  purchase  of  free,  unmerited 
grace. 

While  I  look  to  Him  as  my  Saviour  from 
the  j>enaUy^  may  I  know  Him  also  as  my  De- 
liverer from  the  power  of  sin.  I  have  to  la- 
ment that  so  often  I  have  yielded  to  its  solici- 
tations— that  my  heart,  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  has  been  so  often  profaned  and  dis- 
honored by  the  "  accursed  thing,"  marring 
my  spiritual  joy,  and  sorely  interrupting  com- 
munion with  the  Lord  I  love.  Give  me  grace 
to  exercise  a  godly  jealousy  over  my  traitor 
affections — to  live  nearer  Thee — to  have  the 
magnet  of  my  heart  more  centered  on  Thj^- 
self — to  keep  the  eye  of  faith  more  steadily 
on  Jesus — to  live  more  habitually  under  "  the 
j)owers  of  the  world  to  come."  Thou  knowest 
my  hesetting  sin— the  plague  of  my  heart, 
which  so  often  leads  to  a  guilty  estrangement. 
Lord,  cut  down  this  root  of  bitterness.  Let 
me  nail  it  to  Thy  cross.  Let  me  be  ever  on 
the  watch-tower,  ready  to  resist  the  first  as- 


FOR   CRUCIFIXION    OF    SIN.  55 

sault  of  the  enemy.  Let  it  be  to  me  at  once 
a  precept  and  a  promise — "  Sin  shall  not  have 
dominion  over  you."  Oh  show  me  that  my 
strength  to  repel  temptation  is  in  Jesus  alone. 
Put  me  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock  when  the 
hurricane  is  passing  by.  May  I  be  as  willing 
to  surrender  all  for  my  Saviour — my  heart- 
sins  and  life-sins — as  He  willingly  surren- 
dered His  all  for  me.  May  I  be  enabled  to 
say,  "  Lord,  I  am  Thine." 

Every  idol  I  utterly  abolish.  Save  me, 
blessed  Saviour,  from  a  deceitful  heart  and  a 
seductive  world.  Let  me  see  more  and  more 
the  beauties  of  holiness.  Let  me  ever  be 
basking  in  the  rays  of  Thy  love — approach- 
ing nearer  and  nearer  Thee,  thou  "  Sun  of  my 
soul."  May  Thy  loveliness  and  glory  eclipse 
all  created  beams,  and  may  I  look  forward 
with  bounding  heart  to  that  time  when  all 
that  helps  to  lighten  up  earth's  pathway  shall 
be  obscured  in  the  shadow  of  death,  and  I 
shall  be  ushered  into  the  glories  of  that  better 
and  brighter  scene,  where  "  the  sun  shall  no 


56  THE  MOENING  WATCHES. 

more  go  down,  neither  shall  the  moon  with- 
draw itself,  but  where  the  Lord  my  God  shall 
be  my  everlasting  light." 

And  what  I  ask  for  myself,  I  desire  in  be- 
half of  those  near  and  dear  to  me.  Do  Thou 
"  sanctify  them  wholly."  May  they,  too, 
crucify  sin,  and  "  die  daily."  May  this  be 
the  happy  history  of  all  of  us — "  Being  made 
free  from  sin,  and  having  become  the  servants 
of  God,  we  have  our  fruit  unto  holiness,  and 
the  end  everlasting  life."     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAR   THY    LOVINa-KINDNESS    IN    THE   MORNING, 
FOR    IN   THEE   DO    I   TRUST." 


®|irtnnt|r   S^^^nttg. 

FOR   GROWTH   IN   HOLINESS. 

"  Grow  in  grace." — 2  Pet.  iii.  18. 

O  God,  draw  near  to  me  in  Thy  great  mercy. 
Another  peaceful  morning  has  dawned  upon 
me.  May  it  be  mine  to  know  the  happiness 
of  those  who  walk  all  the  day  in  the  light  of 
Thy  countenance. 

O  thou  best  and  kindest  of  beings,  teach  me 
to  know,  amid  the  smiles  and  the  frowns,  the 
joys  and  the  sorrows,  of  an  ever-changing 
world,  what  it  is  to  have  an  unchanging  ref- 
uge and  portion  in  Thee.  I  can  mourn  no 
blank,  I  can  feel  no  solitude,  when  I  have 
Thy  presence  and  love.  If  I  have  naught 
beside — stripped  and  denuded  of  every  other 


68  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

blessing — I  have  the  richest  of  all,  if  I  be  at 
peace  with  God. 

I  desire  to  dwell  with  devout  contempla- 
tion on  the  infinite  loveliness  of  Thy  moral 
nature.  Lord,  I  long  to  have  this  guilty,  err- 
ing soul,  moulded  and  fashioned  in  increas- 
ing conformity  to  Thy  blessed  mind  and  will. 
Let  my  great  concern  henceforth  be,  to  love, 
and  serve,  and  please  Thee  more  and  more. 
May  all  Thy  dealings  with  me,  of  whatever 
kind  they  be,  contribute  in  promoting  this 
growth  in  holiness.  May  prosperity  draw 
forth  a  perpetual  thank-offering  of  praise  for 
unmerited  mercies.  May  adversity  purify 
away  the  dross  of  worldliness  and  sin.  May 
every  day  be  finding  the  power  of  sin  weaker 
and  weaker,  and  the  dominion  of  grace 
stronger  and  stronger.  Living  under  the 
powers  of  a  world  to  come,  may  I  look  for- 
ward with  joyful  expectation  to  the  time 
when  sin  shall  no  longer  impede  my  spiritual 
growth — when  Satan  shall  be  disarmed  of  his 
power,  and  my  own  heart  of  its  deceitfulness 


FOR   GROWTH   IN   HOLINESS. 


59 


— when  every  faculty  of  a  glorified  and  ex- 
alted nature  shall  be  enlisted  in  Thy  service 
in  a  world  of  eternal  joy. 

O  thou  blessed  Advocate  within  the  veil — 
i     Thou  who  art  even  now  interceding  for  Thy 
tried  and  tempted  saints,  "  that  their  faith  fail 
not" — do  Thou  impart  unto   me  a  constant 
supply  of  Thy   promised   grace.     IS'ot   only 
!     sprinkle  my  heart  with  Thy  blood,  but  con- 
I     quer  it  by  Thy  love.     Fill  me  with  deep  con- 
!     trition  for  an  erring  past — inspire  me  with 
I     purj^oses   of  new  obedience  for  the  future. 
May  I  know,  in  my  sweet  experience,  that 
I     "  Thy  yoke  is  easy,  and  Thy  burden-  light" — 
I     that,  growing  in  holiness,  I  am  growing  in 
i     happiness  too.     Give  me  an  increasing  ten- 
derness of  conscience   about  sin — lead  me, 
with  more  filial  devotedness,  to  cultivate  a 
holy  fear  of  ofiending  so  gracious  a  Father. 
i     Habitually  realizing  my  new  covenant  rela- 
tionship to  Thee,  may  I  ever  be  ready  to  ex- 
claim, with  joyful  sincerity,  "  O  Lord,  truly 
I  am  Thy  servant !" 


60  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

Revive,  blessed  God,  Thine  own  work 
everywhere.  "  Take  unto  Thee  Thy  great 
power,  and  reign."  Hemove  all  hardness 
and  blindness  of  heart — all  contempt  of  Thy 
Word.  May  it  have  free  course  and  be  glo- 
rified. 

Bless  my  dear  friends.  However  far  sep- 
arated from  one  another,  we  can  ever  meet  at 
the  same  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace,  plead- 
ing the  same  "  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises."  May  we  all  be  following  the  same 
path  of  grace  now,  and  meet  amid  the  end- 
less joys  of  glory  hereafter.  And  all  I  ask  is 
for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE    MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO  I   TRUST." 


I 


ianxttnt\  P^rning* 

1  FOR    VICTORY   OVER   THE   WORLD. 

''"Whatsoever  is  "born  of  God  orercometh  ttie  world," — 
1  John  v.  4. 

0  ETERNAL,  everlastiiig  God,  Thou  art  glo- 
rious in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  contin- 
ually doing  wonders.  Heaven  and  earth  are 
full  of  the  majesty  of  Thy  glory.  Thou,  the 
almighty  keeper  of  Israel,  never  slumberest. 
There  is  not  the  moment  I  am  away  from  Thy 
wakeful  vigilance.  In  the  defenceless  hours 
of  sleep,  as  well  as  amid  life's  activities  and 
toils,  Thou  art  ever  the  same — "  compassing 
my  path  and  my  lying  down,  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  all  my  ways." 

1  rejoice  to  think  that  I  have  the  assurance 
of  such  unwearying  watchfulness  and  care, 


62  THE  MOENINQ-  WATCHES. 

in  a  world  "  lying  in  wickedness."  Blessed 
Jesus,  in  the  world  Thou  hast  forewarned  me 
to  expect  tribulation,  but,  nevertheless,  I  will 
"be  of  good  cheer,  for  Thou  hast  overcome 
the  world."  Thou  hast  traversed  its  wilder- 
ness-depths— Thou  hast  passed  through  the 
shadow  of  its  darkest  valley.  I  cannot  dread 
what  Thou  hast  trodden  and  conquered. 

But,  alas !  I  have  to  mourn  that  the  world 
which  crucified  Thee,  should  be  so  much  loved 
by  me — that  its  pleasures  should  be  so  fasci- 
nating— its  pursuits  so  engrossing.  Wean  me 
from  it.  Break  its  alluring  spell.  Strip  it  of 
its  counterfeit  charms.  Discover  to  me  its 
hollowness — the  treachery  of  its  promises — the 
precariousness  of  its  best  blessings — the  fleet- 
ing nature  of  its  most  enduring  friendships.  I 
take  comfort  in  the  thought,  "  The  Lord  God 
is  a  sun  and  shield.-'  The  world  has  deceived 
me,  but  Thou  never  hast.  Guide  me  by  Thy 
counsel.  Saviour-God,  let  me  come  up  from 
the  wilderness  leaning  on  Thine  arm,  exult- 
ing, amid  its  legion-foes,  that  greater  is  He 


FOR  VICTORY   OVER  THE   WORLD.  63 

that  is  with  me  than  all  they  that  can  be 
against  me. 

O  Thou  who,  in  Thy  last  prayer  on  earth, 
didet  so  touchingly  say  of  Thy  pilgrim  people, 
' '  These  are  in  the  world  ;"  do  Thou  still  bend 
Thy  pitying  eye  upon  me,  as  I  travel,  burden- 
ed with  sin  and  sorrow,  through  the  valley  of 
tears.  Do  Thou  so  "  sanctify  me  through  Thy 
truth,"  that,  though  in  the  world,  I  may  not 
be  of  it — not  conformed  to  its  sinful  practices 
and  lying  vanities.  Bring  me  to  say,  with 
regard  to  all  in  it  that  was  once  so  fascinat- 
ing, "My  soul  is  even  as  a  weaned  child." 
With  my  face  Zion wards,  may  I  declare  plain- 
ly that  I  seek  "  a  better  country." 

Grant  that  this  day,  in  all  my  worldly  in- 
tercourse, I  may  have  the  realizing  sense  of 
Thy  presence  and  nearness.  May  I  set  a 
watch  on  my  heart,  and  keep  the  door  of  my 
lips.  May  cherished  feelings  of  love  and  de- 
votedness  to  Thee  be  intermingled  with  all 
life's  duties  and  engagements.  May  I  know 
that  a  simple  faith  in  Jesus  is  the  great  se 


64  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

cret  of  victory  over  the  world.  O  may  the 
trembling  magnet  of  my  vacillating  affections 
be  ever  pointing  to  Him,  and  then  I  shall  be 
made  "  more  than  conqueror." 

Through  His  all-prevailing  merits  and  ad- 
vocacy, hear  my  prayer.  In  His  most  pre- 
cious blood,  forgive  all  my  sins.  By  His  in- 
dwelling grace,  sanctify  my  nature,  that  my 
whole  body,  soul,  and  spirit  may  be  preserved 
blameless  until  His  coming.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE   ME   TO   HEAR    THY     LOVING-KINDNESS  IN   THE   MOKNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I  TRUST." 


FOR  DEEPER  VIEWS  OF  SELF. 

"  Search  me,  O  God,  and  i:no"w  my  heart." — 
Pa.  cxxxix.  23. 

O  ETEKNAL,  evei'lastmg  God,  who  hast  once 
more  enlightened  my  eyes,  and  suffered  me 
not  to  sleep  the  sleep  of  death,  bestow  upon 
me  this  day  the  riches  of  Thy  grace  and  love. 
Morning  after  morning  is  dawning  upon  me, 
with  new  tokens  of  Thy  mercy.  Oh,  may 
these  be  bringing  me  nearer  the  glorious  day 
which  is  to  know  no  night — that  eternal  noon- 
tide when  all  shadows  and  darkness  are  for- 
ever to  flee  away ! 

Lord,  I  am  unworthy  to  come  into  Thy  pres- 
ence, and  yet  I  have  to  mourn  that  I  do  not 
feel  this  deep  unworthiness  as  I  ought.     I  am 

unwilling  to  see  into  the  unknown  depths  of 
6* 


66  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

my  sin.  I  do  not  know  myself.  I  have  no  de- 
pressing consciousness  of  the  desperate  wick- 
edness of  my  own  evil  heart.  I  have  buried 
many  bypast  transgressions  in  oblivion.  I 
have  deluded  myself  with  the  thought,  that 
many  were  too  trivial  and  unimportant  to  in- 
cur Thy  disapproval.  Even  any  imperfect 
good  which  Thy  grace  has  enabled  me  to  per- 
form, I  have  been  too  prone  to  take  the  merit 
to  myself,  instead  of  ascribing  all  the  praise 
to  Thee.  There  has  been  pride  in  my  humil- 
ity. There  have  been  mingled  motives  in  my 
best  services.  My  best  resolutions  have  been 
fitful  and  transient.  My  purest  and  most  dis- 
interested actions  could  not  stand  the  scrutiny 
of  Thine  eye.  The  holiest  day  I  ever  spent, 
were  I  to  be  judged  by  it,  would  condemn 
me. 

O  Thou  who  "  sear  chest  Jerusalem  with 
lighted  candles,"  do  Thou  "  search  my  heart." 
Bring  me  to  the  publican's  place  of  peniten- 
tial sorrow,  exclaiming,  in  self-renouncing 
humility,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  !" 


FOR   DEEPER   VIEWS   OF   SELF.  67 

I  would  seek  to  make  a  more  entire  and 
undivided  surrender  of  all  I  am  and  have  to 
Thee.  Give  me  such  an  awful  and  affecting 
sense  of  my  vileness,  that  I  may  never  feel 
safe  but  when  close  by  the  atoning  Fountain, 
drawing  out  of  it  hourly  supplies.  May  mine 
be  a  daily  heart  and  self  and  sin  crucifixion — 
an  eternal  severance  from  those  bosom  traitors 
which  have  so  long  separated  between  me 
and  my  God.  Make  me  more  zealous  for  Thy 
honor  and  glory — "  Cleanse  Thou  the  thoughts 
of  my  heart,  by  the  inspiration  of  thy  Holy 
Spirit" — "  Let  no  iniquity  obtain  dominion 
over  me."  But  may  it  be  my  daily  ambition 
to  become  more  like  to  Thee,  reflecting  more 
of  the  image,  and  imbibing  more  of  the  spirit, 
of  my  Divine  Eedeemer,  that  thus  the  atmos- 
phere of  holiness  and  of  heaven  may  be  dif- 
fused all  around  me.  May  my  own  soul  be 
pervaded  with  lofty  and  purified  aspirations. 
May  I  be  enabled  to  exhibit  to  the  world  the 
felt  happiness  of  close  walking  with  God. 

And  do  Thou,  gracious  Father,  "  send  forth 


bo  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

thy  light  and  thy  truth"  to  a  darkened  world. 
May  Thine  own  ancient  people  be  speedily 
gathered  in  with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentile 
nations,  that  all  ends  of  the  earth  may  see  the 
salvation  of  God. 

Bless  all  my  dear  friends,  near  or  distant. 
May  they  have  the  heritage  of  those  that  fear 
Thy  name.  Defend  them  now  by  thy  mighty 
power,  and  at  last  number  them  with  thy 
saints  in  glory  everlasting.     Amen. 

"cause  me  to  hear  thy  loving-kindness  in   the   morning, 

FOE   in  thee   do  I  trust." 


3x^tttnt\  Hunting* 
/ 

OR  BRIGHTER  VIEWS  OF  JESUS. 

"That  I  may  know  Hira." — Phil.   iii.  10. 

Blessed  Jesus  ! — Sun  of  my  soul ! — Light 
of  mj  life  ! — do  Thou  shine  upon  me  this 
morning  with  the  "  brightness  of  Thy  rising." 
May  I  enjoy  this  day  union  and  communion 
with  Thee.  May  a  sense  of  Thy  favor  per- 
vade all  its  duties,  sanctify  its  blessings,  and 
lighten  its  trials.  May  it  be  to  me  the  sweet- 
est and  holiest  of  all  thoughts,  that  Thou  art 
ever  with  me — that,  though  unseen  to  the  eye 
of  sense,  the  eye  of  faith  can  discern  Thy 
gracious  presence  and  the  manifestations  of 
Thy  nearness  and  love.  May  the  realized  as- 
surance, that  Thou  art  thus  at  my  side,  dispel 
every  misgiving,  and  dry  every  tear.     May  I 


70  THE   MORNIXG   WATCHES. 

liear  Thee,  even  now,  saying  unto  me,  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you" — I  am  with  you  now — I  shall 
be  with  you  "alway" — and  when  the  world 
is  ended,  "I  will"  that  you  "be  with  me 
where  I  am,  that  you  may  behold  my  glory !" 
O  adorable  Saviour,  how  sadly  is  Thy 
beauty  obscm*ed  from  my  view,  by  reason  of 
my  own  sin  !  How  feebly  do  I  apprehend 
the  mystery  of  Thy  love — the  glories  of  Thy 
person — the  perfection  of  Thine  atonement. 
Hide  me  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  and  while 
there,  "  I  beseech  Thee,  show  me  Thy  glory." 
May  every  fresh  glimpse  of  "  the  great  love 
wherewith  Thou  hast  loved  me"  rebuke  the 
lukewarmness  of  my  own.  May  I  covet  a 
closer  walk  with  Thee.  May  my  existence  be 
one  continued  Emmaus  journey — its  hours 
passing  joyously  by,  because  happy  in  the 
presence  and  converse  of  a  risen  Redeemer. 
Blessed  Jesus,  "  abide  with  me,"  for  the  day 
is  "far  spent."  Let  me  walk  with  Thee  in 
newness  of  life.  May  I  breathe  Thy  spirit 
of  holy  submission — of  cheerful  obedience — 


FOR   BRIGHTER   VIEWS   OF   JESUS.  71 

of  patience  under  injuries.  May  I  not  repine 
at  bearing  the  cross,  so  meekly  borne  for  nie  ; 
nor  murmur  at  my  trials,  when  I  think  of 
Thine.  May  I  be  enabled  to  make  every 
lineament  of  Thy  spotless  "character  my  daily 
study,  80  as  gradually  to  be  transformed  into 
the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory — looking 
forward  to  that  blessed  time  when  I  shall  see 
Thee  without  one  stain  of  remaining  sin  to 
dim  the  contemplation,  and  when  I  shall  be 
permitted  to  bathe  in  the  ocean  of  Thine  eter- 
nal love. 

I  thank  Thee  for  the  mercies  of  the  bypast 
night.  Give  me  to  reckon  every  new  day  a 
fresh  gift  of  Thy  dying  grace — to  regard  all 
its  hours  as  redeemed  hours — ewery  moment 
as  "  bought  with  a  price."  May  these  days, 
and  hours,  and  moments,  thus  stamjDed  with 
the  cross,  be  consecrated  more  than  ever  to 
Thy  praise. 

Again,  I  beseech  Thee,  ''  abide  with  me." 
"Where  Thou  goest  I  will  go,  and  where 
Thou  dwellest  I  will  dwell."     Abide  with  me 


72  THE   MORNING    WATCHES. 

from  morning  to  evening,  and  from  evening 
to  morning  again.  "  Without  Thee  I  cannot 
live" — "  without  Thee  I  dare  not  die."  Liv- 
ing or  dying,  Lord,  I  would  seek  to  be  Thine. 
Forgive  all  my  many  sins,  and  when  the 
feeble  glimpses  of  a  feeble  love  on  earth  are 
at  an  end,  bring  me  at  last  to  enjoy  brighter 
views  of  Thee  in  glory  everlasting.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS   IN   THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN  THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOE  NEARER  VIEWS  OF  HEAVEN. 

"  They  siiall  "behold  the  land  that  is  very  far  off." — 
Isaiah  xxxiii.  17. 

O  God,  in  the  multitude  of  Thy  mercies  I 
am  again  permitted  to  see  the  light  of  a 
new  day.  With  another  rising  morn  do 
Thou  scatter  all  the  clouds  of  sin  and  unbe- 
lief from  my  soul.  Unfold  to  my  view  bright 
glimpses  of  Thyself — sweet  foretastes  of  those 
jo^^s  which  "  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard." 

Here,  Lord,  I  have  "  no  continuing  city" — ■ 
change  is  my  portion  in  this  the  house  of  my 
pilgrimage — "  I  would  not  live  alway."  I 
am  "  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the 
body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord." 
Wean  me  from  this  uncertain  world,  Bring 
7 


74  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

me  to  live  under  the  powers  of  a  world  to 
come.  I  rejoice  to  think  of  the  happy 
myriads  already  in  glory — "  clothed  in  white 
robes,  with  palms  in  their  hands' ' — safe  in 
the  presence  of  the  Master  they  love,  with 
every  tear-drop  wiped  away.  I  rejoice  to 
know  that  the  blood  and  grace  to  which  they 
owe  their  crowns  are  still  free  as  ever.  O 
may  I  be  enabled,  with  some  good  measure 
of  triumphant  assurance,  to  say,  "  Henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge, 
shall  give  me  at  that  day."  May  the  thought 
of  that  endless,  sinless,  sorrowless  immortal- 
ity reconcile  me  to  all  earth's  severest  disci- 
pline. Let  me  not  murmur  under  the  heaviest 
cross  in  the  prospect  of  such  a  crown.  Let 
me  not  refuse  to  pass  cheerfully  through  the 
hottest  furnace  which  is  to  refine  and  purify 
me  for  this  "  exceeding  weight  of  glory ;" 
but  bear  with  calm  equanimity  whatever 
Thou  seest  meet  to  lay  upon  me.     "  Weep- 


FOK   NEARER   VIEWS   OF   HEAVEN.  75 

ing  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh 
in  the  morning." 

Lord,  grant  that  the  approach  of  eternity 
may  urge  me  to  greater  diligence  in  Thy  ser- 
vice. May  I  have  my  loins  girded  and  my 
lamp  burning.  May  I  spend  each  day,  and 
this  day,  as  if  it  were  to  be  my  last.  "When 
the  shadows  of  evening  gather  around  me, 
may  I  feel  that  I  have  spent  a  day  for  God. 
Nearer  a  dying  hour — may  it  find  me  nearer 
heaven. 

What  I  ask  for  myself  I  would  seek  in  be- 
half of  all  my  beloved  friends.  Sprinkle 
each  heart  with  the  blood  of  the  covenant. 
May  every  eye  be  directed  to  Jesus,  and 
every  footstep  be  pointing  heavenward. 
Though  severed  from  one  another  now,  may 
we  not  be  found  gathered  in  different  bun- 
dles on  the  great  reaping-day  of  judgment. 

Lord,  unite  Thine  own  people  more  and 
more.  "Why  should  we  be  guilty  of  such  sad 
estrangements,  crossing  and  re-crossing  one 
another  on  life's   highway  with   alien   and 


76  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

jealous  looks,  when  professing  to  be  sprinkled 
with  the  same  blood,  to  bear  the  same  name, 
and  be  heirs  of  the  same  inheritance  ?  Let 
me  live  near  to  Jesus,  and  then  I  shall  live 
near  all  His  people,  looking  forward  to  that 
blessed  time  when  we  shall  see  eje  to  eye, 
and  heart  to  heart — no  jarring  or  discordant 
note  to  mar  the  everlasting  ascription  of 
"  blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power, 
unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb,  forever  and  ever."     Amen. 

"cause  me  to  hear  thy  loving-kindness  in  the  morning, 

FOE   IN  thee   do  I  trust." 


FOR  WEANEDNESS  FROM  THE  CREATURE. 

"  There  is  none  upon  eartli  tliat  I  desire  "besides  Thee." — 
Ps.   Ixsiii.  25. 

0  Lord,  Thou  blessed  fountain  of  all  hap- 
piness and  joy,  do  Thou  draw  near  to  me  this 
morning  in  Thy  great  mercy.  All  creature- 
comforts  are  emanations  from  Thee.  Thy  fa- 
vor is  life — ^Thy  displeasure  is  worse  than 
death.  In  losing  Thee,  we  lose  our  all— in 
having  Thee,  we  can  want  nothing. 

1  have  to  acknowledge,  with  shame  and 
confusion  of  face,  that  I  have  not  thus  been 
seeking  my  true  enjoyment  in  Thee.  I  have 
been  in  pursuit  of  fleeting  shadows,  which 
one  by  one  have  eluded  my  grasp.  I  have 
been  worshipping  and  serving  the  creature 

more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  "  God  over  all, 

7# 


78  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

blessed  for  evermore."  Lord,  bring  me  to  see 
that  nothing  short  of  Thyself  can  satisfy  the 
longings  and  desires  of  my  immortal  nature. 
Wean  me  from  what  is  perishable.  Let  me 
reverentially  acquiesce  in  whatever  means 
Thou  mayest  employ  to  bring  my  wandering 
heart  back  to  Thee,  O  thou  alone-satisfying 
portion  of  my  soul.  Rather,  Lord,  would  I 
submit  to  the  hardest  discipline  than  listen  to 
the  withering  words,  "  Ephraim  is  joined  to 
idols  :  let  him  alone."  Let  me  feel  that  Thy 
presence  and  love  can  compensate  for  the 
loss  of  all  earthly  joys.  As  prop  after  prop 
which  has  gladdened  my  pilgrimage  totters 
and  falls,  may  I  know  what  it  is  to  "dwell  in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  and  to 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty." 
As  Thou  art  ever  proclaiming  over  creature- 
confidence,  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
shalt  thou  return,"  may  I  know  what  it  is  to 
cleave  to  One  who  is  better  and  surer  than 
the  nearest  and  dearest  on  earth — the  Friend 
that  never  fails,  and  never  wearies,  and  never 


FOE  WEANEDNESS  FKOM  THE  CREATURE.      79 

dies — "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and 
to-day,  and  forever." 

Blessed  Saviour,  I  devolve  my  every  care 
on  Thee.  Thou  art  noting  now  on  the  throne 
the  pangs  and  sorrows  of  every  burdened 
heart.  All  other  love  is  imperfect.  All  other 
sympathy  is  selfish  but  Thine.  May  my  af- 
fections be  consecrated  to  Thee.  May  it  be 
my  joy  to  serve  Thee — my  privilege  to  follow 
Thee,  and,  if  need  be,  to  suffer  with  Thee. 
May  every  cross  lose  its  bitterness  by  having 
Thee  at  my  side.  May  I  feel  that  nothing  but 
absence  from  Thee  can  create  a  real  blank  in 
my  heart.  Thy  presence  takes  the  sting 
from  all  afflictions,  and  imparts  security  in 
the  midst  of  all  troubles.  Living  or  dying, 
may  I  be  Thine. 

Sprinkle  me  this  new  morning  with  the 
blood  of  the  covenant.  May  I  feel  all  through- 
out the  day  the  joy  of  being  reconciled  to 
God.  May  my  heart  be  made  a  little  sanctu- 
ary of  praise.  May  I  breathe  the  atmosphere 
of  heaven.     May  God  himself  be  so  enthroned 


80 


THE  MORNmG   WATCHES. 


in  my  affections,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  say, 
in  comparison  with  Him,  of  all  that  the  world 
can  give,  "  There  is  none  upon  the  earth  that 
I  desire  besides  Thee." 

Heavenly  Father,  I  leave  all  that  belongs 
to  me  to  Thee — "  Undertake  Thou  for  them." 
Bless  them  and  make  them  blessings.  "  Hide 
them  under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings"  until 
earth's  "  calamities  be  overpast."  Hear  this 
my  morning  supplication ;  and  when  thou 
hearest,  forgive.  And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus' 
sake.     Amen. 


CAUSE   ME   TO   HEAR   THY   LOVING-KINDNESS     IN    THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOR   LOWLINESS    OF   MIND. 

'  He  giveth  grace  unto  the  durable." — 1  Pet.  v.  5. 

O  God,  Thou  art  "the  high  and  the  lofty 
One  who  inhabiteth  eternity."  There  is  no 
being  truly  great  but  Thee.  All  other  excel- 
lence and  glory  is  derived — Thine  is  unde- 
rived.  All  else  is  finite — ^Thine  is  infinite. 
The  burning  seraph  nearest  Thy  throne  is  the 
humblest  of  all  Thy  creatures,  because  he 
gets  the  nearest  view  of  the  majesty  of  Thy 
glory. 

Lord,  fill  my  soul  this  morning  with  suita- 
ble views  of  Thy  greatness,  and  a  humbling 
estimate  of  my  own  nothingness.  I  would  lie 
low  at  Thy  feet — ^in  wonder  and  amazement 
that  dust  and  ashes   should  be  permitted  to 


82  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

approach  that  Being  whom  angels  worship 
with  folded  wings,  and  in  whose  sight  the 
very  "■  heavens  are  not  clean."  Repress  every 
proud,  self-glorying  imagination.  Let  me 
feel  I  cannot  abase  myself  enough  in  thy 
presence.  "  Lord,  I  am  vile  ;  what  can  I  an- 
swer Thee?"  My  best  thoughts,  how  pol- 
luted ! — my  best  services,  how  imperfect ! — 
my  best  affections,  how  lukewarm  ! — my  best 
prayers,  how  cold  ! — my  best  hours,  were  I 
judged  by  them,  how  would  I  be  condemned  ! 
I  desire  to  take  refuge  at  the  cross  of  a  cru- 
cified Saviour.  Here,  Lord,  give  me  that 
grace  Thou  hast  promised  to  the  lowly.  Self- 
renouncing  and  sin-renouncing,  I  would  seek 
to  be  exalted  only  in  Jesus,  crying  out  "  God 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  !"  In  broken-heart- 
edness  of  soul,  I  mourn  the  past.  Distrustful 
of  the  future,  I  look  only  to  Thee.  Full  of  my 
own  unworthiness,  I  turn  to  the  infinitely  wor- 
thy One.  I  seek  to  be  washed  in  His  blood — ■ 
sanctified  by  His  Spirit — guided  by  His  coun- 
sel— depending  on  Him  for  every  supply  of 


FOR   LOWLINESS   OF   MIND.  83 

grace — and  feeling  that  without  Him  I  must 
perish. 

May  I  take  the  humility  and  gentleness  of 
Jesus  as  my  pattern.  Like  Him,  may  I  be 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart.  Give  me  grace  to 
avoid  ostentation  and  pride,  haughtiness  and 
vanity,  envy  and  uncharitableness.  "  In  low- 
liness of  mind,  may  I  esteem  others  better 
than  myself."  Let  me  realize  every  moment 
that  I  am  a  pensioner  on  Divine  bounty — 
that  I  am  alike  "  for  temporals  and  spirituals" 
dependent  on  Thee — and  that  it  well  becomes 
me  to  be  "  clothed  with  humility."  O  let  me 
meekly  and  submissively  lose  my  own  will  in 
Thine,  in  childlike  teachableness,  saying — 
"  What  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  May  no 
murmur  escape  my  lips  at  Thy  dealings. 
May  this  lowliness  of  spirit  lead  me  rather  to 
wonder  at  thy  sparing  mercy,  that  the  great 
and  holy  Being  I  have  provoked  so  long  by 
my  rebellion  has  not  "  cut  me  down." 

Bless  all  connected  to  me  by  endearing 
bonds.     May  nature's  ties  be  made  doubly 


84:  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

st'  ong  by  those  of  covenant  grace.  Bless 
7hy  cause  and  kingdom  in  the  world.  May 
Thy  Spirit  descend  "•  like  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass,  and  showers  that  water  the  earth." 

I  commit  myself  unto  Thee,  and  to  the 
word  of  Thy  grace.  Guide  me  this  day  by 
Thy  counsel.  May  I  spend  it  as  if  it  were  to 
be  my  last.  And  when  my  last  day  does  ar- 
rive, may  it  be  to  me  the  eve  of  a  happy  eter- 
nity.  And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.   Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME    TO     HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN   THE    MORNING, 
FOR    IN   THEE    DO    I    TRUST." 


FOR    SIMPLICITY    OF    FAITH. 

"Only  believe." — Mare  v.  36. 

0  ETERNAL,  evei'-blessed  Jehovah — ^Foun- 
tain of  all  light — Source  of  all  happiness — • 
"  God  of  all  grace" — ^look  down  upon  me 
this  morning  with  that  love  which  "  Thou 
bearest  to  Thine  own,"  as  I  venture  anew  into 
Thy  sacred  presence.  Let  me  enjoy  a  sweet 
season  of  fellowship  with  Thee.  Let  the 
world  be  shut  out,  and  may  I  feel  alone  w4th 
God.  "  Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings 
would  I  rejoice." 

1  come  in  the  nothingness  of  the  creature, 

standing  alone  in  the  fulness   of  Jesus.     I 

come,  "just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea" — as  a 

sinner,  and   as   the    "  chief  of  sinners" — to 
8 


S6  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

Thee,  Thou  almighty  Saviour.  I  seek  to  dis- 
own all  creature-confidence,  and,  with  all  the 
burden  of  my  guilt,  to  cast  myself,  for  time 
and  for  eternity,  at  Thy  feet.  "Lord,  save 
me,  else  I  perish."  I  cannot  stand  in  myself. 
I  can  stand  only  in  Him  who  has  stood  so  wil- 
ling a  Surety  for  me — who  is  still  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  in  the  heavens, 
presenting  my  name,  and  my  j^rayers,  and 
my  plea,  before  the  throne.  I  have  no  other 
confidence,  and  I  need  no  other.  Jesus,  I  am 
complete  in  Thee.  Let  me  not  look  inwardly 
on  myself,  where  there  is  everything  to  sink 
me  in  despondency  and  dismay ;  but  let  me 
look  with  the  undivided  and  unwavering  eye 
of  faith  to  Thy  bleeding  sacrifice.  I  rejoice 
to  think  of  the  many  robes  in  the  Church 
triumphant  Thy  blood  has  already  made 
white.  I  rejoice  to  know  that  the  same  blood 
is  free  as  ever — the  same  invitation  is  ad- 
dressed as  ever — the  promise  and  the  Prom- 
iser  remain  "  faithful"  as  ever — "  Him  that 
Cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 


FOB  SIMPLICITT   OF   FAITH.  87 

Lord,  I  come — I  plead  Thv  word.  I  come, 
irrespective  of  all  I  am,  and  all  I  have  been. 
Magnify  Thy  grace  in  me.  Show  me  my  ut- 
ter beggary  and  wretchedness  by  nature — 
that  every  step  to  glory  is  a  step  of  grace ; 
and  while,  with  childlike  faith,  I  rest  on  the 
finished  work  of  Jesus,  may  I  have  the  same 
simple  trust  and  confidence  in  all  His  deal- 
ings towards  me.  May  I  feel  that  the  Shep- 
herd of  Israel  cannot  lead  me  wrong — that 
His  own  way  must  be  the  safest  and  the  best. 
Lord,  "  undertake  Thou  for  me" — "  I  will  fol- 
low Thee  to  prison  and  to  death."  Take  me 
— ^lead  me — use  me,  as  Thou  seest  good.  If 
I  need  chastisement,  give  me  chastisement. 
If  I  need  rebuke,  let  me  not  repine  under  the 
rod.  Let  me  trust  a  Father's  word — a  Father's 
love — a  Father's  discipline.  "  Though  Thou 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Thee." 

And  as  for  myself,  so  for  all  dear  to  me.  I 
pray  that  it  may  please  Thee,  of  Thine  in- 
finite mercy,  to  visit  them  with  Thy  salvation 
— ^to  guide  them  by  Thy  counsel — to  overrule 


88  THE   MOKNING    WATCHES. 

all  life's  changes,  and  vicissitudes,  and  trials 
for  their  well-being,  and  at  last  to  bring  them 
safe  to  Thine  eternal  kingdom,  through  Jesus 
Christ — to  whom,  with  Thee,  O  Father,  and 
Thee,  O  eternal  Spirit,  three  in  one  in  cove- 
nant for  our  redemption,  be  ascribed  all  bless- 
ing, and  honor,  and  glorj,  and  praise,  world 
without  end.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME   TO    HEAE,    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS   IN   THE    MORNING, 
FOa  IN   THEE   DO  I  TRUST." 


FOR  CONSISTENCY  OF  WALK. 

"Walk -worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing." — Col.  i.  IC. 

O  Lord,  Thou  art  the  heart-searching  and 
the  rein- trying  God.  To  Thee  all  hearts  are 
open — from  Thee  no  secrets  are  hid.  Cleanse 
Thou  the  thoughts  of  my  heart  this  day,  by 
the  inspiration  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit.  I  would 
seek  to  begin  its  hours  with  Thee.  May  all 
its  business  and  employments  be  perfumed 
with  the  fragrance  of  "  the  morning  sacri- 
fice.'' 

O  Thou  great  origin  and  end  of  all  things, 
be  Thou  to  me  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of 
my  daily  being.  May  I  feel  existence  to  be 
a  blank  without  Thee.  May  I  feel  that  I  can 
only  be  truly  happy  when  a  sense  of  Thy 
8* 


90  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

favor,  and  friendship,  and  love  is  sweetly  in- 
termingled with  life's  duties — thus  lessening 
every  burden — hallowing  every  trial — dimin- 
ishing every  cross ! 

I  come  to  Thee  once  more,  an  unworthy 
sinner,  to  cast  myself  at  my  Saviour's  feet. 
What  am  I,  that  Thou  shouldst  have  borne 
with  me  so  long  !  The  axe  "  laid  at  the  root 
of  the  trees"  might  long  ago  have  cut  me 
down  ;  but  I,  a  guilty  cumberer,  am  still 
spared.  The  retrospect  of  existence,  while  a 
retrospect  of  patience  and  forbearance  on 
Thy  part,  is  one  of  mournful  rebellion  and  in- 
gratitude on  mine.  I  have  had  a  "  name  to 
live,"  but  how  much  spiritual  death  in  my 
best  frames !  I  have  had  a  form  of  godli- 
ness ;  how  little  have  I  lived  out  and  acted 
out  its  power !  More  careful  have  I  been  to 
appear  to  be  a  Christian  than  really  to  he  a 
Christian.  How  much  unevenness  in  my 
walk — how  much  proclaimed  and  professed 
by  the  lip  has  been  undone  and  denied  in  the 
life ! 


FOR   CONSISTENCY   OF   WALK.  91 

I  come  this  morning  to  ask  anew  for  mercy 
to  pardon,  and  grace  to  lielp  me.  Especially 
do  Thou  give  me  the  grace  of  a  holy  consis- 
tency, doing  all  for  Thy  glory,  having  bold- 
ness to  speak  for  Thee  in  the  world.  May 
my  walk  and  conversation  be  the  living  ev- 
idence and  expression  of  the  sincerity  and 
reality  of  the  inner  life. 

For  this  end  may  I  live  more  on  Jesus. 
May  my  life  be  "  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
May  I  grow  more  and  more  out  of  myself, 
and  into  my  living  Head.  Self-humbled  and 
self-emptied,  may  I  be  ever  resorting  to  the 
all-fulness  of  an  all-sufficient  Saviour.  May 
this  be  my  habitual  feeling — "  Without  Him 
I  can  do  nothing."  May  this  be  my  constant 
prayer — "Help  me.  Saviour,  or  I  die." 

May  I  be  enabled  this  day,  in  His  strength, 
to  do  something  for  God.  However  lowly 
my  lot,  however  humble  my  abilities,  may  I 
feel,  Lord,  that  Thou  hast  work  for  me  in 
Thy  vineyard.  Let  me  not  bury  my  talent  in 
the  earth  ;  may  I "  occupy  it  till  Thou  come,'^ 


92  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

that  "  Thou  may  est  receive  thine  own  with 
usury." 

Have  mercy  on  Thy  whole  Church.  Pour 
out  on  all  its  members  and  office-bearers  the 
spirit  of  meekness  and  zeal,  of  power  and 
love,  and  of  a  sound  mind.  May  "  Holiness 
to  the  Lord"  be  written  on  its  portals  ! 

Hasten  the  blessed  period  when  the  love 
of  Jesus,  being  enthroned  in  every  heart,  and 
every  Church,  "  we  all  shall  be  one."  And 
all  I  ask  is  for  the  Kedeemer's  sake.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE  ME   TO   HEAR    THY     LOVING-KINDNESS   IN   THE   MOENING^ 
FOR  IN  THEE  DO  I  TRUST." 


®tontt5-su0n^  Iteming, 

FOR  SINGLENESS  OF  EYE. 

"  This  one  tMng  I  do." — Phii..  iii.  13. 

My  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  teach  me,  in 
childlike  faith  and  confidence,  to  draw  near 
this  morning  to  Thy  throne  of  grace.  Vouch- 
safe me  the  blessed  influences  of  Thy  Holy 
Spirit,  that  I  may  wait  on  Thee  undisturbed 
by  worldly  distractions,  and  enter  on  the  du- 
ties of  another  day  with  my  mind  "  stayed 
on  God." 

Blessed  Jesus  ! — Thou  who  didst  so  freely 
give  Thyself  a  ransom  for  many — save  me, 
else  I  perish !  I  have  no  peace  but  in  Thy 
pardoning,  reconciling  love.  May  Thy  blood 
and  righteousness  be  to  me  "a  glorious 
dress,"  arrayed  in  which  I  may  now  and  ever 


94 


THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 


stand  fearless  and  undismayed.  I  bless 
Thee,  O  God,  if  I  have  in  any  degree  felt  the 
preciousness  of  the  Saviour,  and  His  adapta- 
tion to  all  the  wants  and  weaknesses  of  my 
sinful,  and  sorrowful,  and  tempted  nature.  1 
thank  Thee  if  Thou  hast  already  hidden  me 
in  the  clefts  of  the  smitten  Rock.  M.y  prayer 
is,  that  Thou  mayest  keep  me  there — that  I 
may  lean  upon  Jesus  more  than  ever,  and 
seek  my  happiness  more  exclusively  in  His 
service.  May  I  every  morning  be  drawn 
more  closely  by  the  cords  of  His  love,  and  be 
led  to  fight  more  faithfully  under  His  ban- 
ner. 

O  for  greater  singleness  of  aim! — more 
self-emptying  and  self-abasing — that  He  may 
be  all  in  all !  Lord,  I  am  conscious  often  of 
mingled  motives,  that  would  not  stand  the 
test  of  Thy  pure  eye  and  Thy  holy  Word. 
How  often  do  I  forfeit  the  joys  of  assurance 
by  admitting  rival  claimants  to  the  throne  of 
my  afi'ections.  How  often  are  the  surpassing 
interests  and  glories  of  eternity  dimmed  and 


FOR   SINGLENESS   OF   EYE.  95 

obscured  by  the  engrossing  things  of  time 
and  of  sense  !  How  mixed  with  imperfection, 
and  earthliness,  and  self-seeking  are  my  best 
attempts  to  serve  Thee  !  If  weighed  in  the 
balance,  how  would  my  holiest  services  be 
found  wanting  ! 

Give  me  more  of  this  unity  and  simplicity 
of  purpose.  Give  me  to  make  salvation 
more  the  one  thing  needful.  Let  all  other 
love  be  subordinated  to  Thine.  Do  Thou  be 
my  "  chiefest  joy."  May  Thy  service  be  my 
delight.  May  my  heart  become  a  little  sanc- 
tuary, whence  the  incense  of  praise,  and  love, 
and  thanksgiving  is  ascending  continually. 
May  it  glow  with  holy  zeal  to  promote  Thy 
cause,  and  testify  of  Thy  grace.  Eemem- 
bering  all  that  Thou  hast  done  for  me,  may  I 
be  animated  to  make  a  more  entire  consecra- 
tion and  surrender  of  all  I  am  and  have  to 
Thy  glory. 

Let  me  feel  that  whatever  my  rank,  or  sta- 
tion, or  circumstances  are,  I  have  some  mis- 
sion to  perform  for  Thee.     How  often  dost 


96  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

Thou  choose  "  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty  !"  Let 
me  not  think  my  talent  too  trifling  to  trade 
upon.  May  I  "  occupy  it  till  my  Lord 
comes."  Let  me  not  squander  fleeting  mo- 
ments, or  forego  fleeting  opportunities.  "  The 
night  cometh,  wherein  none  of  us  can  work." 
Enable  me  now,  bowing  at  Thy  mercy-seat, 
to  replenish  anew  my  empty  vessel  with  the 
oil  of  Thy  grace,  that  the  lamp  of  faith  may 
be  kept  burning  brightly  all  the  day.  All 
that  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS   IN    THE   MORNING j 
FOR    IN   THEE    DO   I   TRUST." 


FOR   FILIAL   NEARNESS. 

"  AToba,  Father." — Rom    viii.  15. 

Most  blessed  God,  I  rejoice  that  I  can  look 
up  to  Thee,  the  mightiest  of  all  Beings,  and 
call  Thee  by  that  name,  which  may  well  dis- 
pel all  misgivings,  and  hush  all  disquietudes 
— "  My  Father  who  art  in  heaven." 

Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and 
iu  Thy  sight.  The  kindest  of  earthly  parents 
could  not  so  long  have  borne  with  ingratitude 
and  waywardness  like  mine.  Long  ere  now 
Thou  mightest  righteously  have  driven  me  an 
exile  and  a  cast-away  from  Thy  presence. 
But  the  voice  of  parental  mercy  is  not  silenced. 
The  hand  of  parental  patience  and  love  is 
<' stretched  out  still."  In  the  midst  of  de- 
9 


98  THE   MOKNING   WATCHES. 

served  wrath,  this  is  Thine  own  gracious  dec- 
laration, "  I  will  be  a  Father  unto  you  !'* 

I  mourn  my  grievous  departures — my  repeat- 
ed declensions — my  heinous  ingratitude.  Oh, 
let  me  no  longer  live  in  this  state  of  guilty 
estrangement — forfeiting  all  the  joys  of  a  Fa- 
ther's tenderness,  the  sunshine  of  a  Father's 
smile.  May  I  know  what  it  is  for  the  soul, 
'  orphaned,  and  portionless,  and  friendless  by 
i  nature,  to  repose  in  the  security  of  Thy  cov- 
i  enant-love.  May  I  be  enabled  to  enjoy  more 
1  and  more,  every  day,  holy  filial  nearness  to 
I  the  mercy -seat-^there  unburdening  into  Thine 
ear  all  my  wants  and  trials — my  sorrows  and 
perplexities — my  backslidings  and  sins.  Give 
me  grace  to  bow  with  childlike  submission  to 
a  Father's  will — to  bear  without  a  murmur  a 
Father's  rod — to  hear  in  every  dealing,  joyous 
or  sorrowful,  a  Father's  voice — and  when 
death  comes,  to  have  every  fear  dispelled  hy 
j  listening  to  a  Father's  summons — "To-day 
j  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." 
I        Jesus,  Thou  blessed  Elder  Brother !  "  in 


FOR   FILIAL   NEARNESS.  99 

whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth 
is  named,"  may  I  be  enabled  to  imitate  Thine 
example  of  holy  resignation  to  Thy  Father's 
will.  May  the  cup  of  bitterest  earthly  sorrow 
be  taken  into  my  hands  with  Thine  own 
breathing  of  devout  submission — "This  cup 
which  Thou  givest  me  to  drink,  shall  I  not 
drink  it?  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seems 
good  in  Thy  sight."  It  is  my  comfort,  bless- 
ed Lord,  to  know,  that  while  the  best  of  earth- 
ly parents  may  err.  Thou,  the  unerring  God, 
never  canst.  In  Thy  most  mysterious  deal- 
ings there  is  wisdom.  In  Thy  roughest  voice 
there  is  mercy. 

Adorable  Eedeemer,  all  these  filial  bless- 
ings and  adoption-privileges  I  owe  to  Thee. 
It  is  Thy  precious  blood-shedding  which  has 
"  set  me  among  the  children" — it  is  that 
which  still  keeps  me  there.  Anew  this  day 
would  I  repair  to  Thy  cross — anew  would  I 
supplicate  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Divine 
Comforter,  would  be  sent  forth  into  my  heart, 
enabling  me  to  cry,  "  Abba,  Father."     May 


100  THE   MOKNING    WATCHES. 

the  thought  of  this  blessed  affiance  in  Thee, 
support  me  amid  life's  fitful  changes  and 
transient  friendships,  and  may  I  be  enabled 
to  dwell  with  holy  delight  on  that  glorious 
time,  when,  no  longer  an  exiled  pilgrim  in  a 
strange  land,  I  shall  be  received  at  the  gates 
of  glory  with  a  Father's  welcome — "  Son, 
thou  art  ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is 
thine." 

I  commend  myself  and  all  near  and  dear 
to  me,  this  day,  to  Thy  fatherly  care  and 
keeping.  And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake. 
Amen. 

*'  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR   THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE   MOBNINQ, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO    I   TRUST."  » 


S;to^ntB-f0«rt|  Horning. 

FOR  RESTORATION   TO    FAVOR. 

"Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation." — Ps.  li.  12. 

0  God,  another  morning  has  dawned  upon 
me.  *'  Thou  better  Sun  of  righteousness" — 
with  the  brightness  of  Thy  rising,  may  all  the 
shadows  of  guilt  and  sin  be  dispersed.  I 
come,  weak  and  weary,  guilty  and  heavy-la- 
den, to  Thee,  beseeching  Thee  to  bend  Thy 
pitying  eye  upon  me — to  deal  not  with  me  as 
I  have  deserved,  nor  reward  me  according  to 
mine  iniquity.  Blessed  Jesus,  look  upon  me. 
In  Thee  may  I  be  pitied,  pardoned,  and  for- 
given ! 

1  have  erred  and  strayed  from  Thy  way  as 
a  lost  sheep.  I  have  wandered  from  the  home 
of  my  God.     I  have  been  seeking  my  happi- 

9* 


102  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

ncss  in  what  is  shadowy  and  unreal.  The 
world  and  its  delusive  hopes  have  been  pre- 
ferred to  Thee.  My  heart,  which  ought  ever 
to  be  a  little  altar  and  sanctuary  of  praise, 
has  burned  with  false  incense.  Thy  love  and 
glory  have  not  maintained  their  paramount 
place  in  my  affections.  I  have  righteously 
forfeited  "the  joys  of  Thy  salvation."  My 
only  marvel  is,  that,  as  a  wandering  star,  Thou 
hast  not  left  me  to  drift  onwards  to  the  black- 
ness of  darkness  forever.  O  leave  me  not  to 
perish!  I  mourn  my  wanderings.  In  leaving 
Thee,  I  feel  I  have  left  my  Best  Friend.  I 
have  caused  an  aching  void  in  this  heart, 
which  the  world,  with  all  its  joys  and  riches 
and  pleasures,  can  never  fill.  I  cannot  have 
one  hour  of  happiness,  if  mingled  with  the 
thought  that  I  am  estranged  from  Thee,  my 
God.  Blissful  hours  of  Thy  favor  I  once  en- 
joyed, come  sorrowfully  to  my  remembrance  ; 
and,  though  the  cup  of  earthly  happiness  be 
full  to  the  brim,  I  have  still  to  breathe  the 
prayer — "  Oh  that  it   were   with   me   as  in 


FOB   RESTORATION    TO   FAVOK.  103 

months  past,  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  did 
shine  !" 

"  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salva- 
tion." Leave  me  not  in  this  state  of  distance 
and  alienation.  "  O  Lord,  I  beseech  Thee, 
dehver  my  soul."  Snap  these  chains  of  earth- 
liness  that  are  still  binding  me  to  the  dust, 
that,  on  the  wings  of  faith,  I  may  soar  up- 
wards, and  find  rest  and  quietude  where 
alone  it  can  be  found — ^in  Thy  renewed  love 
and  favor.  May  past  backslidings  drive  me 
more  to  Thy  grace.  ITothing  in  myself,  may 
I  find  and  feel  that  my  all  in  all  is  in  Thee. 
Discover  to  me  my  own  emptiness,  and  the 
overflowing  fulness  of  Jesus.  May  I  every 
day  see  more  of  His  matchless  excellencies — 
His  incomparable  loveliness — the  sweets  of 
His  service — that  I  may  never  feel  tempted 
to  wander  from  His  fold,  and  carefully  avoid 
all  that  would  risk  the  forfeiture  of  that  favor 
which  indeed  is  "  life." 

Lord,  let  me  know  this  day  something  of 
this  happiness.     Let  me  not  be  content  with 


104:  THE  MORNING   WATCHES. 

the  name  to  live.  Let  religion  be  with  me  a 
real  thing — let  it  be  everything  ; — life-influ- 
encing, sin-subduing,  self-renouncing.  Let 
nae  diffuse  all  around  me  the  happy  glow  of 
a  spirit  that  feels  at  peace  with  God. 

And  now,  Lord,  what  wait  I  for  ?  "  My 
hope"  for  myself,  my  friends,  and  all  for 
whom  I  ought  to  pray,  "  is  in  Thee."  Listen 
to  these  my  supplications ;  and  all  I  ask  is 
for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 


CAUSE  ME  TO   HEAR  THY  LOVING-KINDNESS     IN    THE  MORNING, 
FOR  IN  THEE  DO   I  TRUST." 


®tonttg-fift(j    panting, 

FOR  A  PILGRIM  SPIRIT. 

"  And  confessed  that  they -were  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  the  earth." — Heb.  xi.  13. 

O  God,  again,  in  the  multitude  of  Thy 
mercies.  Thou  art  permitting  me  to  approach 
the  footstool  of  Thj  throne.  I  am  another 
day  nearer  death — oh,  may  I  be  a  day  nearer 
Thee  !  With  a  new  morning's  dawn  may  I 
hear  the  pilgrim  summons — "  Arise,  for  this 
is  not  your  rest."  Ere  I  mingle  with  the 
world,  give  me  to  feel  I  am  not  of  it,  but  born 
frort%  above,  and/br  above ;  and  cherishing 
more  and  more  of  a  pilgrim  spirit,  may  my 
prayer  and  watchword  be — "  I  desire  a  better 
country." 

Lord,  I  bless  Thee  for  the  rich  provision 
Thou  hast  made  for  the  wilderness  journey — 


106  THE   MORNESTG   WATCHES. 

for  all  Thy  mercies,  temporal,  providential, 
and  spiritual.  Forbid  that  the  manifold  gifts 
of  Thy  love  should  draw  me  away  from  Thy- 
self, the  bountiful  Giver,  or  obliterate  the 
solemn  impression — "  I  am  a  stranger  with 
Thee  and  a  sojourner,  as  all  my  fathers  were." 
May  I  '^  use  the  world  without  abusing  it." 
By  the  varied  discipline  of  Thy  providence, 
may  I  be  led  to  feel  that  all  my  well-springs 
are  in  Thee.  May  the  world's  fascinations 
be  becoming  more  powerless — sin  more  hated 
— ^holiness  more  loved — heaven  more  realized 
— God  more  "  the  exceeding  joy"  of  my  soul. 
Driven  from  all  creature-stays  and  earthly 
refuges,  may  Jesus  be  the  prop  and  staff  of 
my  pilgrimage.  When  the  world  is  bright, 
may  I  rest  upon  Him,  and  seek  that  He  sanc- 
tify my  prosperity.  When  the  wilderness  is 
dreary,  and  the  way  dark,  may  He  hallow  ad- 
versity. When  friends  are  removed,  may  I 
feel  that  I  have  One  left  more  faithful  than 
the  best  of  all  earthly  friends ;  and  when 
death  comes,  and  the  pilgrim  warfare  ceases, 


FOR   A   PILGRIM    SPIRIT.  107 

leaning  confidingly  on  that  same  arm,  may  I 
enter  the  pilgrim's  rest. 

0  adorable  Saviour ! — Thou  who  wast  once 
Thyself  a  pilgrim — the  lonely,  weary,  home- 
less, afilicted  One — who  hadst  often  no  arm 
to  lean  upon,  and  no  voice  to  cheer  Thee— an 
outcast  wanderer  and  sojourner  in  Thine  own 
creation — I  rejoice  to  think  that  Thou  hast 
trodden  all  this  wilderness- world  before  me — 
that  Thou  knowest  its  dreariest  paths.  I 
take  comfort  in  the  assurance  that  there  is  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  a  Fel- 
low-Sufferer, who  has  drunk  of  every  "  brook 
in  the  way" — shed  every  tear  of  earthly  sor- 
row— heaved  every  sigh  of  earthly  suffering 
• — and  who,  being  Himself  the  "tried  and 
tempted  One,"  is  able  and  willing  to  succor 
every  pilgrim  who  is  tried  and  tempted  too. 

1  beseech  Thee  this  day  to  look  down  in 
great  kindness  on  all  my  beloved  friends. 
Seal  to  them  a  saving  interest  in  Thy  great 
salvation.  Wash  them  all  in  Thy  blood — 
sanctify  them  all  by  Thy  Spirit.     May  not 


i 


108  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

one   be   wanting   on  "  the   day  when   Thou 
makest  up  Thy  jewels." 

Compassionate  a  fallen  world.  Thy  Church 
is  slumbering — the  enemy  is  all  vigilant — 
souls  are  perishing.  Arise,  Lord,  and  plead 
Thine  own  cause.  Promote  greater  unity, 
and  love,  and  concord  among  Thine  own  peo- 
ple. Let  us  be  nearer  Jesus,  and  then  we 
shall  be  nearer  one  another.  Give  us  all 
more  of  the  single  eye  to  Thy  glory.  Make  us 
more  self-sacrificing — more  heavenly-minded 
— more  Saviour-like.  And  all  I  ask  is  for 
Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

"cause  me  to  hear  thy  loving-kindness   in    the   morning, 

FOR    IN   thee    do    I   trust." 


FOR    PREPARATION   FOR    DEATH. 

"  Prepare  to  raeet  thy  G-od." — Amos  i'^.  12. 

O  ETERNAL,  evei'lasting  God — Author  of 
my  being — my  continual,  unwearied  Bene- 
factor— I  desire  to  come  anew  this  moruinoj 
into  Tliy  presence,  thanking  Thee  for  Thy 
sparing  mercies.  Instead  of  making  my  last 
night's  pillow  a  pillow  of  death,  I  am  again 
among  the  living  to  praise  Thee.  O  that  I  were 
enabled  to  live  every  day,  and  to  rise  every 
morning,  as  if  it  were  to  be  my  last,  as  if  my 
next  waking  were  to  be  in  the  morning  of  im- 
mortality ! 

Lord,  how  little  am  I  influenced  and  im- 
pressed by  the  solemn  records  of  death  all 

around  me.     Friend  after  friend  is  departing 
10 


no  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

— the  circle  of  acquaintance  is  narrowed. 
The  proclamation  is  ever  sounding  with  fresh 
emphasis  in  mj  ears,  "  Be  ye  also  ready ;" 
and  yet  how  prone  to  disregard  the  solemn 
monitions  !  how  apt  to  peril  my  preparation 
on  the  peradventures  of  a  dying  hour !  Blessed 
God,  my  prayer  is,  that  I  may  have  my  loins 
girded,  and  my  lamp  burning.  Let  me  not 
wait  to  have  my  vessel  replenished  till  the 
voice  of  the  Bridegroom  be  heard,  and  I  am 
summoned  to  meet  Him.  May  I  now  so  re- 
pose my  every  confidence  in  Jesus,  that  death 
may  be  disarmed  of  its  sting, — that  the  hour 
which  to  the  unwary  and  unwatchful  is  one 
of  darkness  and  terror,  may  be  to  me  the 
eve  of  the  blessed  Sabbath  of  eternity — the 
threshold  and  the  portal  of  a  world  of  end- 
less joy. 

Lord,  give  me  to  feel  that "  the  sting  of  death 
is  sin" — that,  not  till  I  get  the  blessed  sense 
of  all  my  sins  cancelled  and  forgiven  in  the 
blood  of  the  Surety,  can  I  be  ready  for  my 
departure.     "  To  me  to  live  may  it  be  Christ," 


FOR  PREPARATION  FOR  DEATH.     Ill 

that  SO  "to  die"  may  be  great  and  eternal 
"gain."  Let  me  be  enabled,  by  faith  in 
death's  great  Conqueror,  to  cultivate  that  holy 
familiarity  with  a  dying  hour,  that  I  may  be 
enabled,  when  it  comes,  to  fall  sweetly  "  asleep 
in  Jesus,"  and  to  hear  His  voice  of  love  say- 
ing, "It  is  I,  be  not  afraid." 

Look  in  mercy  on  the  multitudes  who  are 
content  to  live  on,  unmeet  and  unprepared 
for  their  great  change.  Awaken  them  to  a 
sense  of  their  guilt  and  peril.  Show  them 
their  affecting  need  of  Jesus — that  time  is 
wasting  and  eternity  is  hasting — that,  "as  the 
tree  falleth,  so  must  it  lie." 

I  pray  for  the  heathen  who  are  perishing 
for  lack  of  knowledge.  Countenance  and 
bless  all  the  efforts  of  Thy  Church  to  dissem- 
inate among  them  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God.  May  Thy  missionary  servants,  who 
have  gone  with  their  lives  in  their  hands  to 
the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  experience  a 
peace  which  the  world  knows  not  of.  May 
they  have  many   souls    as    their  glory  and 


112  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

joy  and  crown  at  the  day  of  Christ's  appear- 
ing. 

O  give  us  all  grace,  in  our  varied  stations 
and  relations  in  life,  to  do  something  for 
Thee.  Let  us  not  bury  or  hide  our  talents ; 
but,  as  members  of  a  ransomed  priesthood, 
may  we  lay  our  time,  our  opportunities,  our 
substance,  on  Thine  altar,  and  seek  to  "  show 
forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath  called  us 
out  of  darkness  into  His  marvellous  light." 
And  all  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

♦*  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS   IN    THE   MORNING, 
FOR    IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOE   A   JOYFUL   RESUREECTION. 

"  A-wake  and  sing,  ye  that  d-well  in  dust." — Is.  xxvi.  19. 

GRAciors  God,  Thou  hast  again  dispersed 
the  darkness  of  another  natural  night.  Every 
rising  earthly  sun  is  bringing  me  nearer  the 
gladdening  day-break  of  immortality.  O 
grant  that,  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound  and 
the  dead  shall  be  raised,  I  may  be  ready  to 
listen  undismayed  to  the  summons,  "  Behold, 
the  Bridegroom  cometh,  go  ye  out  to  meet 
Him." 

My  prayer  is,  that  I  may  now  be  made  par- 
taker of  the  blessedness  of  the  first  resurrec 
tion  from  a  death  of  sin.  As  one  "alive  from 
the  dead,"  may  I  rise  and  walk  with  a  living 

Saviour  "  in  newness  of  life,"  that  thus  I  may 
10* 


114:  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

at  last  share  also  in  the  more  glorious  resur- 
rection of  His  ransomed  saints,  when  His 
"  dead  men  shall  live,"  and  together  with  His 
body  "they  shall  arise,"  obeying  the  joyous 
mandate  of  their  risen  Head,  "  Awake  and 
sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust." 

Blessed  Jesus,  I  do  rejoice  to  think  of  Thine 
own  triumphant  rising  from  the  tomb.  I  re- 
joice to  be  able  to  visit  in  thought  Thy  va- 
cant sepulchre,  and  to  hear  the  glad  tidings, 
"  He  is  not  here.  He  is  risen  !"  "  The  Lord 
is  risen  !" — it  is  the  blessed  pledge  and  earnest 
of  my  own  redemption  from  the  power  of  the 
grave — that  "because  Christ  lives,  I  shall 
live  also."  O  may  "  my  life  be  now  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,  so  that  when  Christ,  who  is  my 
life,  shall  appear,  I  may  also  appear  with  Him 
in  glory."  Keep  me  ever  in  the  frame  I 
should  wish  to  be  found  in  when  my  Lord 
Cometh.  May  the  lamp  of  faith  and  love  be 
ever  brightly  burning.  May  it  never  be  mine 
to  be  awoke,  by  the  midnight  cry,  to  the 
awful  consciousness,  "  My  lamp  has  gone  out." 


FOE   A   JOYFUL   RESURKECTION.  115 

May  I  rather  be  among  the  number  of  ''  wait- 
ing servants,"  who,  when  their  Lord  "  cometh 
and  knocketh,"  are  ready  to  "•  open  unto  Him 
immediately." 

Do  Thou  impart  to  all  near  and  dear  to  me 
this  day  the  same  spiritual  and  eternal  bless- 
ings I  ask  for  myself.  May  they,  too,  be 
united  to  Jesus — "  planted  in  the  likeness  of 
His  death,"  that  they  may  be  found  also  "  in 
the  likeness  of  His  resurrection."  May  we 
all  seek  to  bear  an  increasingly  holy  resem- 
blance in  love  one  to  another,  and  to  our 
great  living  Head,  in  whom  the  whole  family 
in  heaven  and  earth  is  named ;  and  if  for  a 
little  while  separated  by  death,  may  we,  on 
the  great  day  of  His  appearing,  be  reunited 
in  bonds  that  shall  know  no  dissolution. 

Hasten  that  blessed  time  when  our  world, 
80  long  groaning  and  travailing  in  pain,  shall 
put  on  her  resurrection  attire,  and  exult  in 
the  glorious  liberty  of  Thy  children.  "  Come, 
Lord  Jesus :  come  quickly."  "  "Why  tarry 
the  wheels  of  Thy  chariot  ?" 


116  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

Lord,  I  commend  myself  to  Thee.  Pre- 
pare me  for  living,  prepare  me  for  dying. 
Let  me  live  near  Thee  in  grace  now,  that  I 
may  live  with  Thee  in  glory  everlasting. 
Let  me  be  reconciled  submissively  to  endure 
all  that  Thy  sovereign  wisdom  and  love  see 
meet  to  appoint — looking  forward,  through 
the  tears  and  sorrows  of  a  weeping  world,  to 
that  better  day-spring,  when  "  I  shall  behold 
Thy  face  in  righteousness,"  and  be  "  satisfied, 
when  I  awake,  in  Thy  likeness."  And  all  I 
ask  is  for  the  Redeemer's  sake.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE   ME   TO    HEAB    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN   THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


FOR  THE  CONQUEST  OF  SATAN. 

"Tlie  God  of  peace   sTaall  "bruise  Satan  under  your  feet 

shortly." — Hom.  xvi.  20. 

O  God,  I  bless  Thee  for  the  returning  mer- 
cies of  a  new  day.  "  I  laid  me  down  and 
slept ;  I  awaked  :  for  the  Lord  sustained  me. 
I  will  not  be  afraid  of  ten  thousands  that  have 
set  themselves  against  me."  Vouchsafe  me, 
I  beseech  Thee,  thy  fatherly  protection  and 
blessing,  that  all  my  thoughts  may  be  ordered 
by  Thee,  and  all  my  plans  and  purposes  over- 
ruled by  Thee,  and  all  my  joys  hallowed  by 
Thee,  and  all  my  sorrows  sanctified  by  Thee. 
Keep  me  near  Thyself.  While  I  seek  to 
realize,  every  hour  of  this  day,  the  power  and 
subtilty  of  my  spiritual  adversaries,  may  I 
rejoice  in  the  assurance  that  greater  is  He 


118  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

that  is  with  me  than  all  they  that  can  be 
against  me — that,  "though  an  host  should 
encamp  against  me,"  with  God  on  my  side, 
"I  need  fear  no  evil." 

I  mourn  the  prevalence  of  sin,  both  in  the 
world  and  in  my  own  heart.  Thy  creation 
still  groans  and  travails  under  its  power. 
"The  Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  still 
works  in  the  children  of  disobedience."  "The 
whole  world  lieth  in  the  Wicked  One."  Often 
is  Satan  still  "  desiring  to  have  me,  that  he 
might  sift  me  as  wheat"—"  standing  at  my 
right  hand  to  resist  me" — to  oppose  my  plea 
and  damage  my  cause, — sending  some  "  thorn 
in  the  flesh  to  buffet  me" — marring  my  peace, 
disturbing  my  joy,  and  hindering  and  imped- 
ing my  spiritual  growth  and  advancement. 
But,  Lord,  it  is  my  comfort  to  know  that  there 
is  in  heaven  a  "stronger  than  the  strong 
man" — that  no  time  can  impair  or  diminish 
the  comfort  of  the  assurance,  "  Zhave  prayed 
for  thee^  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  When  Sa- 
tan assaults,  blessed  Jesus,  I  will  think  of 


FOE  THE  CONQUEST  OF  SATAN.      119 

Thj  continual  intercession.  "  Thy  hand  is 
never  shortened,  that  it  cannot  save." 

May  I  ever  have  grace  given  me  to  "  resist 
the  devil,  that  he  may  flee  from  me" — to 
keep  watchfully  guarded  every  loophole  of 
the  heart.  May  I  abstain  from  all  appear- 
ance of  evil,  avoiding  every  place  and  every 
company  where  his  unholy  influences  are 
likely  to  prevail.  "  Lead  me  not  into  temp- 
tation," and,  if  tempted.  Lord,  make  a  way 
of  escape,  that  I  may  be  able  to  bear  it. 

O  Thou  adorable  Intercessor  within  the 
veil,  it  is  my  comfort  to  know  that,  in  Thy 
season  of  humiliation  on  earth.  Thou  wert 
"  not  ignorant  of  his  devices."  Thou  didst 
also,  of  him,  "  suffer,  being  tempted,"  and 
Thou  art  therefore  the  more  able  "  to  succor 
I  them  that  are  tempted."  I  rejoice  to  think 
that,  exalted  on  Thy  mediatorial  throne,  Thou 
shalt  reign  until  Satan  and  every  other  en- 
emy be  put  under  Thy  feet,  and  until  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  (so  long  usurped  by 


120  THE   MORNING    WATCHES. 

him)  shall  become  the  "  one  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ." 

Heavenly  Father,  take  this  day  all  my  be- 
loved friends  under  Thy  guardian  care.  May 
they  dwell  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most 
High,  and  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty. May  they,  too,  be  able  to  take  up 
the  triumphant  challenge — "God  is  for  us, 
who'  can  be  against  us  ?"  and  when  their 
earthly  work  and  warfare  is  accomjjlished, 
may  we  all  meet  in  that  sinless  world  where 
Satan's  seat  no  more  can  be  found,  and  Sa- 
tan's temptations  shall  no  longer  be  felt  or 
feared.  And  all  that  I  ask  is  for  Jesus'  sake. 
Amen. 

*'  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE    MORNING, 
FOR    IN    THEE    DO   I    TRUST." 


FOR  THE    OTTTPOURING  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

'  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesli." — Joel  ii.  28, 

O  God,  I  desire  this  morning  to  approach 
with  lowly  reverence  the  footstool  of  Thy 
throne,  adoring  and  praising  Thee  for  the  rest 
of  the  past  night,  and  the  comforts  and  bless- 
ings of  a-  new  day.  O  holy,  blessed,  eternal 
Trinity,  three  persons,  one  God,  have  mercy 
upon  me,  and  grant  me  Thy  benediction  and 
love. 

Most  blessed  Spirit  of  all  grace,  more  es- 
pecially would  I  at  this  time  invoke  Thy  pres- 
ence and  nearness.  I  acknowledge,  with 
shame  and  confusion  of  face,  how  often  I 
have  grieved  Thee  by  resisting  Thy  gracious 

influences.     How   often   hast  Thou   pleaded 
II 


122  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

with  me  by  the  voice  of  Providence,  and  jet 
1  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  Thy  repeated 
warninsfs  and  remonstrances  !  Thou  hast 
spoken  to  me  in  prosperity,  when  the  full  cup 
demanded  in  return  a  heart  full  of  gratitude. 
Thou  hast  spoken  to  me  in  adversity,  when, 
by  the  emptied  cup  and  the  broken  cistern, 
Thou  woiildst  have  driven  me  from  all  earthly 
things,  to  the  everlasting  God  Himself,  as  my 
only  satisfying  Portion.  Thou  hast  spoken 
to  me  by  the  terrors  of  the  law  and  by  the 
tender  accents  of  Gospel-love,  and  yet  I  have 
continued  to  "  spend  my  money  for  that 
which  is  not  bread,  and  my  labor  for  that 
which  satisfieth  not."  Long  ere  now  I  might 
have  exhausted  Thy  patience.  "  It  is  of  the 
Lord's  mercies  I  am  not  consumed." 

But  "  take  not,  O  gracious  God,  Thy  Holy 
Spirit  from  me."  Come,  Thou  blessed  En- 
lighten er,  Quickener,  Sanctifier,  and  inspire 
this  dull,  cold  heart.  Touched  as  with  a  live 
coal,  may  the  flame  of  a  holy  love  to  Thee  be 
rekindled   on   its   altar.     "  Return,  O   Holy 


FOR   THE    OUTPOURING   OF   THE   SPIRIT.     123 

Dove,  thou  Messenger  of  rest,"  from  the 
true  ark  of  God.  Give  me  grace  to  hate  the 
sins  which  drove  Thee  away  from  this  guilty 
breast.  Breathe  upon  me,  and  say,  "  Peace 
be  unto  you ;  receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Do  Thou  invigorate  my  languishing  affections. 
May  I  realize  my  dependence  on  Thee  for 
every  pulsation  of  spiritual  life.  Without 
Thee  I  perish. 

While  I  pray  for  this  Blessed  Agent  in  be- 
half of  my  own  soul.  Lord,  it  is  my  earnest 
prayer  that  He  may  be  poured  out  upon  all 
flesh — that  that  time  may  soon  come,  when 
the  rain  of  His  gracious  influences  shall  de- 
scend on  a  barren  church  and  parched  world. 
Hasten  the  Pentecost  of  the  "  latter  day." 
Earth  is  at  present  but  as  the  prophet's  "  val- 
ley of  dry  bones."  Come,  Thou  blessed 
Spirit  of  all  grace,  "  breathe  upon  these  dry 
bones,  that  they  may  live." 

And  may  the  same  blessed  and  benign  in- 
fluences be  shed  on  every  heart  that  is  dear 
to  me.    The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  not  strait- 


124  THE   MOKNING   WATCHES. 

ened.  O  my  Father  in  heaven,  hast  Thon 
not  promised  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  Thee?  I  pray  that  all  my  beloved 
friends  may  become  members  of  that  mys- 
tical body  of  which  Jesns  is  the  living  Head, 
so  that  the  oil  of  anointing  grace,  pom-ed  upon 
Him  by  the  Spirit,  and  flowing  down  to  the 
skirts  of  His  garments,  may  be  shared  by  His 
humblest  and  unworthiest  members.  O  that 
each  and  all  of  our  hearts  may  become  living 
temples,  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  ! 
May  nothing  that  is  unholy  find  admission 
there,  but,  "  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of 
promise,  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,"  may 
we  be  daily  and  habitually  living  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  eternal  glory.  Through  Jesus 
Christ.     Amen. 

"cause  me  to  heab  thy  loving-kindness  in  the  morning,, 

FCa   IN  thee   do  I  TRUST." 


FOR  THE  UNION  OF  THY  PEOPLE. 

"  That  they  all  may  be  one." — John  xvii.  21. 

O  God,  Thou  eternal  Fountain  of  all  excel- 
lence and  glory  ! — through  the  one  "new  and 
living  way"  I  desire  this  morning  to  approach 
Thee.  Powerless  in  my  own  pleadings,  I 
look  up  to  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the 
Majesty  in  the  heavens,  to  that  "  Prince  who 
has  power  with  God,"  and  at  all  times  "pre- 
vails." Guilty,  I  come  to  this  guiltless  Re- 
deemer. Diseased,  I  come  to  this  great 
Physician.  Outcast,  I  come  to  Him  who  has 
promised  that  He  will  by  no  means  "cast 
out."  May  His  presence  always  be  with  me. 
May  I  know  Him,  and  believe  in  Him,  and 

rejoice  in  Him.     May  I  feel  that  I  need  no 
11* 


12^  THE   MOENING   WATCHES. 

other  Saviour — that  He  is  all  I  require  for 
life  or  for  death — for  time  or  for  eternity. 

I  rejoice  to  think  of  the  glorious  multitude 
around  Thy  throne — the  trophies  of  Thy  grace 
— already  wearing  the  white  robe  and  the 
immortal  palm.  I  rejoice  to  think  of  the  bless- 
ed unity  which  pervades  their  glorified  ranks  : 
no  note  of  discord  disturbing  their  lofty  har- 
monies— all  seeing  eye  to  eye,  and  heart  to 
heart. 

I  lament  the  sad  and  mournful  estrange- 
ment of  Christian  from  Christian  in  Thy 
Church  below — that  so  many,  treading  the 
same  heavenly  journey,  with  the  same  glori- 
ous portals  in  view,  should  be  following  sepa- 
rate and  diverse  footpaths — that  so  many 
brethren  in  the  Lord,  whose  interchanges 
ought  to  be  all  love,  should  be  looking  coldly 
and  censoriously  on  one  another.  How  much 
ungodly  jealousy,  and  heart-burning,  and  mu- 
tual recrimination,  among  Thy  professing 
people  !  How  little  of  the  spirit  which  of  old 
provoked  the  testimony  even  of  heathen  gain- 


FOR  THE  UNION  OF  THY  PEOPLE.    127 

eajers — "  See  how  these  Christians  love  one 
another  !"  O  thou  blessed  "  Author  of  peace 
and  lover  of  concord,"  do  Thou,  in  Thj  mercy, 
pour  out  on  Thy  Church  on  earth,  a  greater 
spirit  of  unity,  and  brotherly-kindness,  and 
charity.  Do  Thou  in  Thy  mercy  heal  the 
bleeding  wounds  of  Thy  mystical  body — cast- 
ing over  them  the  mantle  of  love.  Bring  us 
all,  blessed  Jesus,  as  individuals  and  as 
churches,  nearer  Thyself,  and  then  shall  we 
be  nearer  one  another.  It  is  because  of  our 
distance  from  Thee,  the  great  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness, the  Source  of  light  and  life  and 
peace,  that  we,  as  wandering  stars,  are  re- 
volving in  such  devious  and  distant  orbits. 
Give  us  to  feel  that  we  are  all  members  of  one 
mighty  family,  of  which  Thou  art  the  glorious 
Head — that,  though  following  diverse  tracks, 
we  are  sheep  of  the  same  pasture,  owning  the 
same  "  Chief  Shepherd" — that,  though  en- 
rolled in  different  ranks,  we  are  allies  in  the 
same  great  army,  fighting  under  the  banner 
of  the  same  great  Captain  of  salvation.     O 


128  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

forbid  tliat,  in  these  "  latter  days" — in  these 
times  of  trouble,  and  rebuke,  and  blasphemy, 
when  "  the  enemy  is  coming  in  like  a  flood" 
— we  should  waste  our  strength  on  petty  and 
puny  dissensions !  May  we  be  led  to  merge 
the  few  points  in  which  we  differ,  in  the  many 
in  which  we  can  unite. 

Preserve  me,  good  Lord,  this  day,  from  all 
uncharitableness.  May  I  "judge  not,  that  I 
be  not  judged."  May  I  have  Thy  favor  rest- 
ing upon  me  in  all  the  day's  duties,  and  Thy 
love  softening  and  sanctifying  all  its  trials. 
May  all  my  beloved  friends  be  one  with  me 
in  Jesus — one  now,  and  one  in  glory  everlast- 
ing.    Amen. 

"  CAUSE   ME   TO   HEAR     THY     LOVING-KINDNESS   IN    THE   MORNING, 
FOR   IN   THEE   DO   I   TRUST." 


irtg-first  lt0nting. 

FOE  THE  COMING  OF  THY  KINGDOM. 

"  Thy  kingdom  come." — Luke  xi.  2. 

O  ETERNAL,  eYei'-blessed  God  ^  whose  mer- 
ciful kindness  is  new  to  me  every  morning — 
give  me  throughout  this  day  that  peace  which 
the  world  cannot  give.  As  the  beams  of  the 
material  sun  are  lighting  up  anew  my  earthly 
chamber,  may  the  inner  chamber  of  my  soul 
be  illumined  by  a  better  and  brighter  radi- 
ance. Jesus!  Thou  blessed  Fountain  of  light, 
and  life,  and  glory,  do  Thou  disperse  all  the 
darkness  of  unbelief  and  sin.  May  Thy  pres- 
ence and  love  hallow  all  my  joys,  and  miti- 
gate and  sanctify  all  my  sorrows. 

Ere  I  enter  on  the  day's  duties,  do  Thou 
anew  sprinkle  the  lintels  and  door-posts  of  my 


130  THE   MORNING   WATCHES. 

heart  with  Thine  own  most  precious  blood  ; 
may  mj  inmost  thoughts,  and  purposes,  and 
desires,  and  affections  be  consecrated  to  that 
God  whose  property  they  are.  May  I  have  an 
increasing  experience  of  the  sweets  of  Thy 
favor,  and  friendship,  and  love.  With  Thee, 
blessed  Lord,  I  am  rich,  whatever  else  I  want ; 
without  Thee,  I  am  poor,  though  I  have  the 
wealth  of  worlds  beside.  Take  what  Thou  wilt 
away — but  take  not  Thyself.  Nothing  can  fill 
and  satisfy  the  longings  of  my  immortal  nature 
but  Thee — all  worldly  happiness  and  creature 
joys  are  poor  substitutes  for  the  inexhaustible 
source  of  all  joy.  Let  me  know  what  it  is, 
amid  the  wreck  of  earthly  refuges  and  hopes, 
to  exult  in  the  persuasion,  "  The  Lord  liveth, 
and  blessed  be  my  rock  ;  and  let  the  God  of 
my  salvation  be  exalted." 

While  I  pray  that  Thy  kingdom  may  come 
in  my  own  heart,  I  would  especially  pray  for 
its  extension  throughout  the  world.  Arise,  O 
God,  and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered. 
May  the  blessed  day  soon  arrive  when  a  re- 


L. 


FOR  THE  COMING  OF  THY  KINGDOM.   131 

joicing  and  emancipated  world  shall  own  no 
longer  habitations  of  darkness  and  horrid 
cruelty — when  Jew  and  Gentile  shall  wel- 
come the  Prince  of  Peace  to  the  Throne  of 
Universal  Empire — and  "  all  ends  of  the 
earth  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God."  "  Come, 
Lord  Jesus  ;  come  quickly."  Let  the  cry 
soon  break  over  Thy  now  burdened  Church, 
"  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  for  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  His  wife  hath 
made  herself  ready."  Grant,  Lord,  that  / 
may  be  in  readiness  to  meet  Thee.  May  my 
loins  now  be  girded,  and  my  lamp  brightly 
burning,  that,  at  the  Bridegroom's  summons, 
I  may  be  able  joyfully  to  respond,  "  Lo,  this 
is  my  God  !  I  have  waited  for  Him." 

Grant  this  day  to  all  near  and  dear  to  me, 
as  well  as  to  myself,  the  special  tokens  of 
Thy  blessing  and  love.  Fold  my  beloved 
friends  in  the  arms  of  Thy  mercy.  Teaching 
I  them  to  do  Thy  holy  will,  do  Thou  say  of 
I  them  and  to  them,  '*  The  same  is  my  mother, 
and  sister,  and  brother."     Guide  us  all  by  Thy 


132        THE  MORNING  WATCHES. 

counsel  here.  May  we  feel  that  the  way  in 
which  Thou  art  leading  us  is  the  kindest  and 
the  best  that  covenant  love  can  devise  ;  and 
when  our  appointed  time  on  earth  is  finished, 
do  Thou  receive  us  into  everlasting  habita- 
tions through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

And  now,  to  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  ascribed,  as  is 
most  due,  all  blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory, 
and  praise,  world  without  end.     Amen. 

"  CAUSE    ME    TO    HEAR    THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    IN    THE    MORNING, 
FOR    IN    THER   DO    I    TRUST." 


THE 


NIGHT    WATCHES 


'  Sun  of  my  soul !  thou  Saviour  dear, 
It  is  not  Night  if  Thou  be  near ; 
Oh !   may  no  earth-born  cloud  arise, 
To  hide  Thee  from  Thy  servant's  eyes! 


^Hf  fo()  coinoefl)  io  fl}e 


Ps.  cxxx.  6. 


€jjB  Siglit  «JEtrliB3. 


While  the  title  of  this  second  part  indicates  its 
design  as  a  series  of  evening  meditations,  that  title 
may  be  more  peculiarly  suggestive  of  those  ex- 
periences of  earthly  sorrow,  during  which  this  has 
ever  proved  the  most  blessed  solace — "  I  have  re- 
membered THY  NAME,  0  Lord,  in  the  night ?^ 

May  every  reader  be  able  to  make  the  assurance 
of  the  Psalmist  his  own — "  The  Lord  will  command 
His  loving-kindness  in  the  day-time,  and  in  the 
night  His  song  shall  be  with  me." — (Ps.  xlii.  8.) 

"  When  the  soft  dews  of  kindly  sleep 
My  wearied  eyelids  gently  steep, 
Be  my  last  thought  how  sweet  to  rest 
Forever  on  my  Saviour's  breast ! 


THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

Abide  with  me  from  morn  till  eve, 
For  without  Thee  I  cannot  live : 
Abide  with  me  when  night  is  nigh, 
For  without  Thee  I  dare  not  die  1" 


first    iigfet. 

ON  THY  GLORY. 

"  From,  everlasting  to  everlasting  thou  art  God." — 
Ps.  xc.  2. 

My  Soijl  !  Seek  to  fill  thyself  with  thoughts 
of  the  Almighty !  Lose  thyself  in  the  im- 
penetrable tracts  of  His  Glory !  "  Canst 
thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?"  Can  the 
animalcule  fathom  the  ocean,  or  the  worm 
scale  the  sMes  ?  Can  the  finite  grasp  the  In- 
finite— the  mortal  Immortality  ?  "We  can  do 
no  more  than  stand  on  the  brink  of  the  shore- 
less sea,  and  cry,  "  O  the  depth  !"  '^From 
everlasting !" — shrouded  in  the  great  and  aw- 
ful mystery  of  eternity  !  Before  one  star  re- 
volved in  its  sphere — ^before  one  angel  moved 
his  wing — God  was! — the  shadow  of  His  own 


8  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

infinite  presence  filling  all  space.  All  time 
to  Him  is  but  as  the  heaving  of  a  breath — 
the  beat  of  a  pulse — the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
The  Eternity  of  bliss,  which  is  the  noblest 
heritage  of  the  creature,  is  in  its  nature  pro- 
gressive. It  admits  of  advance  in  degrees 
of  happiness  and  glory,  ll^ot  so  with  the 
Eternity  of  the  Great  Creator;  He  was  as 
perfect  before  the  birth  of  time  as  he  will  be 
when  "  time  shall  be  no  longer" — as  infinitely 
glorious  when  He  inhabited  alone  the  soli- 
tudes of  immensity,  as  He  is  now  with  the 
songs  of  angel  and  archangel  sounding  in  His 
ears !  But "  who  can  show  forth  all  His  praise  ?" 
We  can  at  best  but  lisp  the  alphabet  of  His 
Glory.  Moses,  who  saw  more  of  God  than 
most,  makes  it  still  his  prayer,  "I  beseech 
thee,  show  me  Thy  glory."  Paul,  who  Jcnew 
more  of  God  than  other  men,  prays  still,  "that 
I  onay  know  Him."  "  Our  safest  eloquence,'' 
says  Hooker,  "  concerning  Him,  is  our  si- 
lence, when  we  confess  without  confession, 
that  His  glory  is  inexplicable." 


ON   THY   GLOET. 


9 


And  is  this  the  Being  to  whom  I  can  look  up 
with  sweetest  confidence,  and  call "  My  Fa- 
ther F"  Is  it  this  Infinite  One,  whom  "  the 
Heaven  of  Heavens  cannot  contain,"  I  can  call 
"  My  God  ?"  My  soul !  contemplate  the  me- 
dium through  which  it  is  thou  canst  see  the 
glory  of  God,  and  yet  live !  "  Ko  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time,  the  only-begotten  Son,  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  de- 
clared Him."  He,  who  dwells  in  light  inac- 
cessible, comes  forth  from  the  pavilion  of  His 
glory  in  the  person  of  "  Immanuel,  God  with 
us."  In  Christ,  "  the  Image  of  the  invisible 
God,"  the  creature — ay,  sinners — can  gaze 
unconsumed  on  the  lustres  of  Deity !  Eeader ! 
be  it  thine  to  glorify  Him.  Seek  thus  to  ful- 
fil the  great  design  of  thy  being.  Let  all 
thy  words  and  ways,  thine  actions  and  pur- 
poses, thy  crosses  and  losses,  redound  to  His 
praise.  The  highest  seraph  can  have  no 
higher  or  nobler  end  than  this— the  glory  of 
the  God  before  whom  he  casts  his  crown. 
But  He  has  a  claim  on  thee,  which  he  has 


10  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

not  on  the  unredeemed  angel.  "  He  gave 
Himself  for  thee !"  This  mightiest  of  all 
boons  which  Omnipotence  could  give,  is  the 
guarantee  for  the  bestowment  of  all  lesser 
necessary  blessings,  and  for  the  withholding 
of  all  ^^?^necessary  trials.  Whilst  thou  art 
called  to  behold  "  His  glory,  the  glory  as  of 
the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,"  remember 
its  characteristic ;  it  is  not  a  glory  to  appal 
thee  by  its  splendors,  but  to  win  and  capti- 
vate thee  by  its  beauties — it  is  "  full  of  grace 
and  full  of  truth."  He  is  thy  God  in  cov- 
enant. "  Underneath  and  around  thee  are 
the  everlasting  arms."  Thou  mayest  com- 
pose thyself  on  thy  nightly  pillow,  with  the 
sweet  pledge  of  security,  and  say — 

"  I  WILL   BOTH  LAY  ME   DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP ;    FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME  DWELL  IN  SAFETY  1" 


ON    THY    IMMUTABILITY. 

"  Thou  art  the  sarae." — Ps  cii.  27. 

What  a  fountain  of  comfort  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Immutability  of  God  !  Xot  one  ripple 
can  disturb  the  calm  of  His  unchanging  na- 
ture. Were  it  so,  He  would  no  longer  be  a 
perfect  Being — He  would  undeify  Himself — 
He  would  cease  to  be  God ! 

"  Change  is  our  portion  here  !"  "  They 
shall  perish,"  is  the  brief  chronicle  regarding 
everything  on  this  side  heaven.  The  firma- 
ment above  us,  the  earth  beneath  us,  the  ele- 
ments around  us — ■"  all  these  things  shall  be 
dissolved."  Scenes  of  hallowed  endearment 
— they  are  fled  !  Friends  who  sweetened  our 
pilgrimage    with    their    presence — they   are 


12  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

gone !  But  here  is  a  sure  and  safe  anchor- 
age  amid  the  world's  heaving  ocean  of  vicissi- 
tude— '^Thou  art  the  same."  All  is  changing 
but  the  Unchanging  One  !  The  earthly  scaf- 
folding may  give  way,  but  the  living  Temple 
remains.  The  reed  may  bend  to  the  blast, 
but  the  living  Kock  spurns  and  outlives  the 
storm  ! 

How  blessed  especially,  to  contemplate  the 
unchangeableness  of  our  Great  High  Priest ! 
"  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to- 
day, and  forever  !"  True,  He  is,  in  one  sense, 
"  changed."  No  longer  "  the  man  of  sor- 
rows"— the  homeless  wanderer — He  is  en- 
throned amid  the  glories  of  heaven.  Seraphs 
praise  Him — saints  adore  Him  ;  but  His 
Heart  knows  no  change !  His  ascension 
glories  have  not  obliterated  His  tender  hu- 
man sympathies.  We  can  think  of  Him  re- 
ceiving an  outcast  sinner,  or  stilling  the  Ti- 
berias storm,  or  standing  at  the  gate  of  Kain, 
or  weeping  tears  of  pity  over  a  lost  city,  or 
tears  of  sympathy  over  a  buried  friend,  and 


ON   THY   IMMUTABILITY.  13 

write  over  all  these,  ''  Ttiou  art  the  same  /" 

The  name  which  He  bequeathed  by  angels  to 

His  Church  until  He  comes  again  is — "  that  \ 

same  Jesus  P''     His  own  Patmos  title  is  His  ! 

memorial    for    all    time — "  I    «m   He    that  I 

liveth !"  I 

Believer  !  has  He  ever  seemed  to  change  i 

towards  thee  f     Art  thou  even  now  mourning     | 

i 
over   the   withdrawal    of    that    countenance     | 

whose  smile  is  heaven  ?     Art  thou  saying  in 

the  bitterness  of  thy  spirit,  "  Hath  the  Lord 

forgotten  to  be   gracious?" — The    change   is 

with  thyself,  not  with  thy  God.     Behind  the 

clouds  of  thine   own   depai-ture,  the  Sun  of      | 

His  love  shines  brightly  as  ever.     ^^  He  faint-     | 

eth  not,  neither  is  weary."  i 

Or,  it  may  be,  thou  art  laboring  under  other    j 

triuls.     The  hand  of  t]iy  God  may  l)e  heavy 

upon  thee.     The  secret  thought  may  be  bar-     | 

])ored  that  some  tear  might  have  been  spared 

— that   thy    chastisement    might   have    been     ; 

less  severe — that  thy   bereavement,  with  its     | 

dark  accompaniments,  might  have  been  init- 


14  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

igated  or  averted.  Look  upwards  !  and  take 
the  Psalmist's  antidote  as  thine  own,  '''  I  will 
remember  the  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the 
Most  HighP  Think  that  the  same  hand 
which  was  for  thee  nailed  to  the  cross,  is  now 
pleading  for  thee  on  the  throne,  ordering  and 
controlling  every  trial,  and  over  every  dark 
providence  writing  the  unanswerable  chal- 
lenge, "  He  who  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but 
delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not 
with  Him  also  freely  give  us  all  things?" 
Oh !  thus  pillowing  thy  head  on  the  Immuta- 
bility of  Jesus,  amid  the  rude  buifetings  of  a 
changing  world,  thou  wilt  be  able,  night  af- 
ter night,  to  say,  till  the  dawn  of  a  morning 
breaks  on  thee,  which  knows  neither  night 
nor  vicissitude — 

"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY   ME   DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP  ',    FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  !" 


firirlr    |[ig|t. 

ON    THY    OMNIPOTENCE. 

"The  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth." — Rev.  six.  16, 

Believer  !  what  can  better  support  and 
sustain  thee  amid  the  trials  of  thy  pilgrimage 
than  the  thought  that  thou  hast  an  Omnip- 
otent arm  to  lean  upon  ?  The  God  with 
whom  thou  hast  to  do  is  boundless  in  His  re- 
sources. There  is  no  crossing  His  designs — • 
no  thwarting  His  purposes — no  questioning 
His  counsels.  His  mandate  is  law — "  He 
speaks,  and  it  is  done  !"  Thy  need  is  great. 
From  the  humblest  crum  of  providential 
goodness,  up  to  the  richest  blessing  of  Divine 
grace,  thou  art  hanging  from  moment  to  mo- 
ment a  pensioner  on  Jehovah's  bounty  ;  but, 
fear  not !     "  I  am  the  Almighty  God  !"     Fi- 


16  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

nite  necessities  can  never  exhaust  infinite  ful- 
ness— "  My  God  shall  supply  all  thy  need!" 

To  Thee,  O  blessed  Jesus  !  "  all  power  has 
been  committed  in  heaven  and  in  earth." 
"  All  power  /"  He  has  in  His  hands  the 
reins  of  universal  empire.  To  "  the  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah"  has  been  intrusted  the 
seven-sealed  roll  of  Providence.  Whatever 
be  the  boon  which  the  poorest,  weakest,  lone- 
liest, most  afflicted  of  His  saints  require,  if  it 
be  really  for  their  good,,  the  "  Wonderful 
Counsellor"  secures  it.  "  As  a  Prince,  He 
has  power  with  God,"  and  must  "  prevail." 
He  combines  in  His  adorable  Person  all  a 
sinner  requires.  A  heart  tender  enough  to 
love — a  hand  strong  enough  to  save.  The 
Elder  Brother  !~the  "  Mighty  God  !"  How 
He  delights  in  the  exercise  of  that  omnip- 
otence in  behalf  of  His  own  people  !  in  rul- 
ing  over  their  interests  and  overruling  their 
trials/<:>r  their  interests !  When  He  prays  for 
himself,  it  is  ^'' Not  my  wiUP  When  He 
prays  for  them,  it  is  ^^Father^  I %oill  P'^ 


ON    THY    OMNIPOTENCE.  17 

May  I  not  well  take  the  motto  which  ne  still 
bears  on  His  breastplate  before  the  throne,  as 
the  ground  of  support  and  encouragement  "  in 
all  time  of  tribulation" — "  able  to  save  even 
unto  the  uttermost  f" 

"  The  golden  censer  in  His  hand, 
He  offers  hearts  from  every  land, 
Tied  to  His  own  by  gentlest  band 

Of  silent  love. 
About  Him  winged  blessings  stand, 
In  act  to  move." 

My  enemies  are  many — their  name  is  Le- 
gion. Satan,  the  great  adversary — the  world, 
and  "the  world's  Trinity"— the  lust  of  the 
flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride 
of  life ; — heart  traitors — ^bosom  sins.  But  "  He 
that  i^for  me  is  greater  far  than  all  that  can 
be  against  me."  He  is  "  stronger"  than  the 
"  strong  man" — "  Christ  the  Power  of  OodP'^ 
"I,  that  speak  in  righteousness,  mighty  to 
save !" 

Believer !  art  thou  in  trial,  beaten  down  with 
a  great  fight  of  afflictions— like  the  disciples, 
out  in  a  midnight  of  storm,  buffeting  a  sea-  of 
2* 


18  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

trouble  ?  Fear  not !  When  the  tempest  has 
done  its  work — when  the  trial  has  fulfilled  its 
embassy,  the  voice  which  hushed  the  waters 
of  old  has  only  to  give  forth  the  omnipotent 
mandate,  "  Peace,  be  still !"  and  immediately 
there  will  be  "  a  great  calm."  The  "  all  pow- 
er" of  Jesus  ! — what  a  pillow  on  which  to  rest 
my  aching  head !  disarming  all  my  fears,  and 
inducing  thoughts  of  sweetest  comfort,  conso- 
lation, and  joy. 

**  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY  ME  DOWN  IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP ;  FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME  DWELL  IN  SAFETY  I" 


ON  THY  OMNIPRESENCE. 

"  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit,  or  whither  shall  1 
flee  from  Thy  presence?" — Ps.  cxxxix.  7. 

The  Ubiquity  of  God !  How  baffling  to  any 
finite  comprehension  !  to  think  that  above  us, 
and  around  us,  and  within  us,  there  is  nothing 
but  Deity — the  invisible  footprints  of  an  Om- 
niscient, Omnipresent  One  !  "  His  eyes  are  on 
every  place  !"  on  rolling  planets  and  tiny 
atoms,  on  the  bright  seraph  and  the  lowly 
worm; — roaming  in  searching  scrutiny 
through  the  tracts  of  immensity,  and  reading 
the  occult  and  hidden  page  of  my  heart ! 
"  All  things  are  naked  and  opened  unto  the 
eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do." 

♦'  God,  I  feel  Thy  presence  nigh, 
Everywhere  o'er  nature's  face ! 


20  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

Wheresoe'er  I  turn  my  eye, 

I  Thy  living  footsteps  trace  ! 
Naught  can  sever  me  from  Thee — 
Everywhere  Thou  art  with  me  !" 

O  God  !  shall  this  Thy  Omnipresence  appal 
me  ?  N'ay,  in  my  seasons  of  sadness  and  sor 
row  and  loneliness — when  other  comforts  and 
comforters  have  failed — when,  it  may  be,  in 
the  darkness  and  silence  of  some  midnight 
hour,  in  vain  I  have  sought  repose — how 
sweet  to  think,  "  My  God  is  here  !"  I  am  not 
alone.  The  Omniscient  One,  to  whom  the 
darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike,  is 
hovering  over  my  sleepless  pillow !  "  He 
that  keepeth  Israel  neither  slumbers  nor 
sleeps  !" 

O  thou  eternal  Sun  !  it  cannot  be  darkness 
or  loneliness  or  sadness  where  Thou  art. 
There  can  be  no  night  to  the  soul  which  has 
been  cheered  with  Thy  glorious  radiance  ! 

"Lo!/am  with  you  alway !"  How  pre- 
cious, blessed  Jesus  !  is  this  Thy  legacy  of 
parting  love  !  In  the  midst  of  Thy  Church 
till  the  end  of  time — ever  present,  omnii^reB- 


ON    THY    OMNIFRESENCE.  21 

ent !  The  true  "  Pillar  of  cloud"  by  day  and 
"  fire  by  night,"  preceding  and  encamping  by 
ns  in  every  step  of  our  wilderness-journey. 
My  soul !  think  of  Him  at  this  moment  in  the 
mysteriousness  of  His  Godhead  nature — and 
yet,  with  all  the  exquisitely  tender  sympa- 
thies of  a  glorified  humanity,  as  present  with 
every  member  of  the  family  He  has  redeemed 
with  His  blood !  ay,  and  as  much  present 
with  every  individual  soul  as  if  He  had  none 
other  to  care  for,  but  as  if  that  one  engrossed 
all  His  affection  and  love  !  The  Great  Build- 
er, surveying  every  stone  and  pillar  of  His 
spiritual  temple — the  Great  Shepherd,  with 
His  eye  on  every  sheep  of  His  fold — the 
Great  High  Priest  and  Elder  Brother,  mark- 
ing every  tear-drop — noting  every  sorrow — ■ 
listening  to  every  prayer — ^knowing  the  pecu- 
liarities of  every  case ;  no  number  perplexing 
Him — no  variety  bewildering  Him — able  to 
attend  to  all,  and  overtake  all,  and  answer 
all ; — myriad  wants  drawing  hourly  on  His 
treasury,  and  yet  no  diminution  :  that  Treas- 


22  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

my,  ever  emptying,  and  yet  ever  filling,  and 
always  full ! 

Jesus  !  Thy  perpetual  and  all-pervading 
presence  turns  darkness  into  day.  I  am  not 
left  unbefriended  to  weather  the  storms  of 
life,  if  Thy  hand  be  from  hour  to  hour  pilot- 
ing my  frail  bark.  Gracious  andidote  to 
every  earthly  sorrow,  "Z  ha'De  set  the  Lord 
always  hefore  nneP''  Even  now,  as  night  is 
drawing  its  curtains  around  me,  be  this  my 
closing  prayer — "  Blessed  Saviour  !  abide 
with  me,  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the 
day  is  far  spent !"  Under  the  overshadow- 
ing wings  of  Thy  presence  and  love, 

"  I  WILL  BOTH   LAY    ME  DOWN    IN    PEACE    AND    SLEEP  ;    FOR  THOU 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


L 


ON  THY  WISDOM. 

"  His  understanding  is  infinite." — Ps.  cxlvii.  5. 

How  baffling  often  are  God's  dispensa- 
tions !  The  more  we  attempt  to  fathom  their 
mystery,  the  more  are  we  driven  to  rest  in 
the  best  earthly  solution — "  Thy  judgments 
are  a  great  deep!" 

But  where  sense  says,  "All  these  things 
are  against  me,"  faith  has  a  different  verdict 
— "All  things  are  working  together  for  my 
good."  This  is  the  province  of  faith,  con- 
fidingly to  lean  on  the  arm  of  God,  and  to 
say,  "  The  Lord  is  righteous  in  all  His  ways." 
We  speak  of  God  "  foreseeing !"  There  is  no 
such  thing.  The  past,  present,  and  fature 
are  with  Hipa  all  alike.      He  sees  the  end 


24 


THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 


from  the  beginning.  We  can  discern  but  a 
short  way,  and  that  short  w^ay  throngh  a 
false  and  distorted  medium.  In  a  piece  of 
earthly  mechanism,  we  seldom  can  discover 
beauty  in  the  incompleted  structure.  The 
mightiest  works  of  science,  while  in  progress, 
are  often  a  chaos  of  confusion  :  it  is  only 
when  finished  we  can  admire  the  relation 
and  adjustment  of  every  part  to  the  whole. 
So  with  the  mechanism  of  God's  moral  ad- 
ministration. At  present,  how  much  mys- 
tery !  But,  when  in  the  light  of  eternity  we 
come  to  contemplate  the  completion  of  the 
mighty  plan,  how  shall  we  be  brought  to  own 
and  exclaim,  "  The  works  of  the  Lord  are 


right !" 


"  But  patience  !  there  may  come  a  time. 
When  these  dull  ears  shall  scan  aright 
Strains  that  outring  earth's  drowsy  chime, 
As  Heaven  outshines  the  taper's  light !" 


Believer  !  are  the  dealings  of  thy  God  at 
present  wearing  a  mysterious  aspect  to  thee  ? 
Art  thou  about  to  enter  some  dark  cloud,  and 


ON   THY   WISDOM.  25 

exclaiming,  "  Yerily  Thou  art  a  God  that 
Lid  est  Thyself?"  Dost  thou  "  fear  to  enter  the 
cloud  ?"  Take  courage !  It  will  be  with 
thee,  as  with  the  disciples  ;  unexpected 
glimpses  of  heavenly  glory, — unlooked-for 
tokens  of  the  Saviour's  presence  and  love 
await  thee !  If  thy  Lord  lead  thee  into  the 
cloud,  follow  Him.  If  He  "  constrain  thee  to 
get  into  the  ship,"  obey  Him.  The  cloud  will 
burst  in  blessings  ;  the  ship  will  conduct  thee 
(it  may  be  over  a  stormy  sea)  to  a  quiet  haven 
at  last !  It  is  only  the  surface  of  the  ocean 
that  is  rough.  All  beneath  is  a  deep  calm, 
and  in  every  threatening  wave  there  is  a 
"need-be!" 

Oh  !  trust  Hiwj^  who  is  emphatically  "  The 
"Wisdom  of  God."  He  is  thy  Counsellor — 
combining  the  prescience  of  God  with  the 
experience  and  sympathy  of  man.  He  thus, 
pre-eminently,  "knows  His  client's  case." 
He  is  pledged  to  use  the  discipline  most 
wisely  suited  for  each. 


26  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

"  O  Thou  whose  wisdom  guides  my  way, 
Though  now  it  seem  severe, 
Forbid  my  unbelief  to  say, 
'  There  is  no  wisdom  here.' 

■  .^   "  Lord  !  if  Thou  bend  my  spirit  low, 
Love  only  I  shall  see  ; 
The  very  hand  that  strikes  the  blow 
Was  wounded  once  for  me." 

Under  the  blessed  persuasion,  that  a  day 
of  disclosures  is  at  hand,  when,  "  in  His 
light,  I  shall  see  light,"  I  will  trust  the  wis- 
dom I  cannot  trace,  and  repeat,  each  night, 
as  the  shadows  of  evening  gather  around  me, 
until  the  nights  of  earth's  ignorance  vanish 
before  the  breaking  of  an  eternal  day — 

"I   WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME   DOWN   IN   PEACE  AND  SLEEP;   FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST  ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  '" 


ON   THY   HOLINESS. 

"  Thou  only  art  Holy." — Rev.  xv.  4. 

Wha.t  an  awful  perfection  is  this  !  It  de- 
notes the  burning  Purity  of  Jehovah.  It 
would  seem  to  form  the  loftiest  theme  for  the 
adorations  of  saints  and  angels.  They  cease 
not  day  nor  night  to  cry,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy 
is  the  Lord  God  Almighty  !"  It  evokes  from 
the  Church  on  earth  her  loudest  strains — 
"Let  them  praise  His  great  and  terrible 
name,/<97'  it  is  holy  P^ 

"Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Three  ! 

One  Jehovah  evermore ! 
Father  !  Son  !  and  Spirit !  we 

Dust  and  ashes  would  adore. 
Lightly  by  the  world  esteem'd. 
From  that  world  by  Thee  redeem'd, 
Sing  we  here  with  glad  accord, 
Holy!  Holyl  Holy  Lord  1" 


28  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

My  soul !  seek,  in  some  feeble  measure,  to 
apprehend  the  nature  of  God's  unbending 
hatred  at  sin  !  It  is  the  deep,  deliberate,  in- 
nate opposition  of  His  nature  to  moral  evil, 
which  requires  Him  to  hate  it,  and  visit  it 
with  condign  punishment.  It  is  not  so  much 
a  matter  of  will  as  of  necessity. 

But  what  pleasure  can  there  be  in  the  con- 
templation of  so  awful  a  theme !  The  con- 
templation of  a  God  "  of  purer  eyes  than 
to  behold  iniquity" — "  in  whose  sight  the 
heavens  are  not  clean  !" — Jesus !  thy  ador- 
able atonement  is  the  mirror  in  which  we  can 
gaze  un appalled  on  this  august  attribute  ! 
Thy  cross  is  to  the  wide  universe  a  perpetual 
monument  and  memorial  of  the  Holiness  of 
God.  It  proclaims,  as  nothing  else  could, 
"  Thou  lovest  righteousness,  and  hatest  wick- 
edness !"  Through  that  cross,  the  holiest  of 
all  beings  becomes  the  most  gracious  of  all. 
^'  Kow,  we  can  love  Him,"  says  a  saint  who 
has  entered  on  his  rest,  not  only  although  He 
is  holy,  but  because  He  is  holy." 


ON   THY   HOLINESS.  29 

Gaze,  and  gaze  again  on  that  monumental 
column  till  it  teaches  the  lesson,  how  vain 
elsewhere  to  look  for  pardon  ! — how  delusive 
that  dream,  on  which  multitudes  peril  their 
eternal  safety,  that  ''  God  will  be  at  last  too 
merciful  to  punish !"  Surely,  if  any  less 
awful  vindication  could  have  sufficed, — or 
had  it  been  compatible  with  the  Divine  attri- 
butes to  dispense  pardon  in  any  other  way, 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  with  all  their  awful 
exponents  of  agony,  would  have  been  spared  ! 
The  Almighty  victim  would  not  have  volun- 
tarily submitted  to  a  life  of  ignominy  and  a 
death  of  woe,  if,  by  any  simpler  method.  He 
could  have  "  cleared  the  guilty."  But  this 
was  impossible.  If  He  was  to  "  save  others. 
Himself  he  could  not  save  !" 

Believer !  let  the  attribute  of  Holiness  be 
the  superscription  written  on  your  heart  and 
life.  Abounding  grace  can  give  no  sanction 
or  encouragement  to  abound  in  sin.  "His 
mercy,"  says  Bishop  Reynolds,  "  is  a  holy 
mercy  which  knows  how  to  pardon  sin,  not  to 


30  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

protect  it :  it  is  a  sanctuary  for  the  penitent, 
not  for  the  presumptuous." 

My  soul !  art  thou  tempted  to  murmur  un- 
der the  dealings  of  thy  God  ?  What  are  the 
sorest  of  thy  trials  in  comparison  with  what 
they  wight  have  been,  had  this  Holy  God 
left  thee  to  know,  in  all  the  sternness  of  its 
meaning,  how  "  Glorious  He  is  in  Holiness?" 
Rather  marvel,  considering  thy  sins,  that  thy 
trial  has  been  so  small — thy  cross  so  light ! 

Blessed  Jesus  !  into  this  sanctuary  of  "  holy 
mercy"  which  thou  hast  opened  for  me,  I 
will  flee.  I  can  now  "  give  thanks  at  the  re- 
membrance of  God's  holiness  !"  Deriving, 
even  from  this  august  attribute,  one  of  the 
"  songs  in  the  night" — 

"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY   ME   DOWN  IN  PEACE   AND  SLEEP ;    TOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


ON  THY  JUSTICE. 

"Justice  and  judgment  are  the  iLabitation  of  Thy 
throne." — Ps. 'Lssxix.  14. 

The  Justice  of  God  is  "  His  Holiness  in  ex- 
ercise." Let  us  rej)air  to  the  spot  marked 
out  as  the  scene  of  its  most  awful  manifesta- 
tion. In  the  depths  of  a  by-past  eternity, 
the  summons  was  heard,  "  Awake,  O  sword, 
against  my  Shepherd,  and  against  the  man 
who  is  my  fellow  !"  That  mysterious  com- 
mission has  been  fulfilled  !  The  Shepherd 
has  been  smitten !  Myriads  of  condemned 
spirits  could  not  have  borne  to  God's  inexor- 
able rectitude  so  awful  a  testimony,  as  when, 
on  the  cross  of  Calvary,  one  lone  voice  sent 
up  the  wailing  cry,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" 


32  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES. 

My  soul,  rejoice  !  Justice,  which  ere  while 
demanded  the  execution  of  a  righteous  doom 
upon  millions  lost^  can  now  unite  with  Mercy 
in  sheathing  the  avenging  sword,  and  exult- 
ing over  myriads  redeemed.  The  Law  which 
brought  in  a  whole  world  "guilty  before 
God,"  can  exult  with  Mercy  in  seeing  its 
every  requirement  obeyed,  its  every  demand 
fulfilled ;  the  Lawgiver  Himself  "  the  Just 
and  yet  the  Justifier ;"  unloosing  every 
chain  of  condemnation,  and  pronouncing, 
"  Not  guilty !"  "  O  Law  !"  says  Luther,  "  I 
drown  my  conscience  in  the  wounds,  blood, 
death,  resurrection,  and  victory  of  Christ." 

Wondrous  thought ! — Justice,  the  very  at- 
tribute which  excluded  the  sinner,  the  first  to 
throw  open  a  door  of  welcome,  proclaiming 
that  infinite  merit  has  cancelled  infinite  de- 
merit— infinite  holiness  has  covered  infinite 
sin  !  While  "  Justice  and  judgment  are  the 
habitation  of  His  throne,"  provision  has  been 
made  whereby,  in  perfect  consistency  with 
every  principle   of  His  moral   government, 


ON   THY   JUSTICE.  33 

"  mercj  and  truth  raay  go  continually  before 
his  face." 

Reader,  it  is  well  for  thee  often  and  de- 
voutly thus  to  dwell  on  the  inflexible  justice 
of  thy  God.  It  will  magiiify  to  thee  the 
riches  of  His  grace,  the  glories  of  redemption, 
the  preciousness  of  Jesus  !  If  the  sinner  is 
to  be  saved,  "judgment  must  be  laid  to  the 
line,  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet !" 
"  The  Sinless  One  must  be  condemned,"  says 
Lefevre,  "if  he  that  is  guilty  is  to  go  free. 
The  Blessing  must  bear  the  curse,  if  the 
cursed  are  to  be  brought  into  blessing.  The 
Life  must  die,  if  the  dead  are  to  live  !"  "  In 
prayer  in  the  evening,"  says  Henry  Marty n, 
"  I  had  such  near  and  terrific  views  of  God's 
judgment  upon  sinners  in  hell,  that  my  flesh 
trembled  for  fear  of  them.  I  flew  trembling 
to  Jesus  Christ,  as  if  the  flames  were  taking 
hold  of  me.  Oh,  Christ  will  indeed  save  me, 
or  else  I  perish  !" 

My  soul !  take  hold  of  that  touchingly  sim- 
ple assurance  to  which  Justice  has  appended 


34  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES. 

its  seal,  "  Whosoever  believeth  in  Him  shall 
not  perish !" 

"  I^ot  perish  !"  and  Justice,  and  a  God  of 
justice,  proclaiming  so  great  salvation — 
safety  from  the  terrors  of  a  violated  law — rest 
from  the  accusations  of  a  guilty  conscience — 
calmness  in  the  prospect  of  death — Grace  here 
— Glory  hereafter  !  Oh  !  what  more  can  the 
sinner  need,  or  the  sinner's  God  bestow ! 

**  I   WILL     BOTH     LAY     ME     DOWN     IN     PEACE     AND     SLEEP  ;     FOB 
THOU,    LORD,    ONLY    MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  I" 


ON   THY    LOVE. 

"  God  is  Love." — 1  John  iv.  16. 

"  The  only  real  mystery  of  the  Bible,' ,  says 
an  old  writer,  "  is  a  mystery  of  Love."  *'  God 
so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  His  only-begot- 
ten Son  !"  What !  that  for  a  lost  and  rnined 
world,  the  Prince  of  life  should  leave  the 
bosom  on  which  He  had  been  j)illowed  from 
all  eternity  !  and  expire  by  an  ignominious 
death  on  the  bitter  tree  !  Love  unutterable  ! 
unspeakable !  The  reflection  of  the  skeptic 
of  a  bygone  age  may  have  formed  at  times 
the  musing  of  better  minds,  "  It  is  far  too 
great— it  is  far  too  good  to  be  true  !"  Infinite 
Majesty  compassionating  infinite  weakness  ! 
The  great  Sun  of  heaven,  the  Fountain  of  un- 


36  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

created  light,  undergoing  an  eclipse  of  dark- 
ness and  blood  for  the  sake  of  a  taper  that 
glimmered  in  nothingness  in  His  beams. 
"  God  so  loved  the  world."  Man  never  caK 
get  further  in  the  solution  of  the  wondrous 
problem.  Eternity  itself  will  form  a  ladder 
— the  saints  climbing  step  by  step  in  its  as- 
cending glories^but,  as  the  prospect  widens, 
each  new  altitude  will  elicit  the  same  confes- 
sion, "  the  Love  of  Christ,  which  passeth 
'knowledge.'''^ 

My  soul !  seek  to  enter  into  the  secrets  of 
this  love  of  thine  adorable  Redeemer.  Be- 
fore all  time  that  love  began.  We  have 
glimses  of  it  bursting  out  from  the  recesses 
of  a  bypast  eternity — "  Then  I  was  by  Him, 
as  one  brought  up  with  Him,  and  I  was  daily 
His  delight,  rejoicing  alway  before  Him !" 
And  "  when  the  fulness  of  the  time  was 
come,"  tliough  foreseen  were  all  His  untold 
sufferings,  nothing  would  deter  Him  from 
pursuing  His  anguished  path — ''  He  set  Plis 
face  steadfastly  to  go  to  Jerusalem  ;" — nay. 


ON   THY   LOVE.  37 

as  if  longing  for  the  hour  of  victory,  He  ex- 
claimed, "  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized 
with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  until  it  be  ac- 
complished !" 

Think  of  that  love  now! — the  live  coals  in 
the  censer  of  old — a  feeble  type  of  the  burn- 
ing ardor  of  affection  still  manifested  by  our 
Great  High  Priest  within  the  veil,  in  behalf 
of  His  own  people.  There  He  bears  the  name 
of  each  indelibly  engraven  on  His  breast- 
plate ;  "  loving  them  at  the  beginning.  He 
will  love  them  even  unto  the  end  !-'  Earthly 
love  may  grow  cold  and  changeable,  or  it 
may  die.  Not  so  the  love  of  this  "  Friend  of 
friends."  It  is  strong  as  death  —  surviving 
death — nay,  deathless  as  eternity.  Listen  to 
His  own  exponent  of  its  intensity :  "  As  the 
Father  hath  loved  me^  so  have  I  loved  youP'' 
"  You  see  in  Him,"  says  a  pious  wi'iter,  "  an 
ocean  of  love  without  bottom,  without  bounds, 
overflowing  the  banks  ^f  heaven,  streaming 
down  upon  this  poor  world  to  wash  away  the 
vileness  of  man  !" 

4 


38  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

Blessed  Jesus !  how  cold,  and  fitful,  and 
transient  has  been  my  love  to  Thee  in  com- 
parison of  Thy  love  to  me  !  Bring  me  more 
under  its  constraining  influence !  May  this 
be  the  superscription  on  all  my  thoughts  and 
my  actions — my  occupations  and  my  time : 
"  I  am  not  my  own — Lord,  I  am  Thine !" 
How  can  I  love  Thee  enough,  who  hast  so 
loved  me !  My  life  shall  henceforth  be  one 
thank-offering  of  praise  for  Thy  redeeming 
mercies. 

Standing  this  night  on  the  shores  of  this  il- 
limitable ocean  —  surveying  its  length  and 
breadth — every  wave  murmuring,  "  Peace  on 
earth  and  good-will  to  men." — 

♦*I    WILL     BOTH     LAY     MK     DOWN     IN     PEACE    AND     SLEEP;     FOB 
THOU,    LORD,    ONLY   MAKE8T   ME    DWELL   IN    SAFETY  1" 


iintir  iigp. 

ON    THY    GEACE. 

'  The  G-od  of  all  grace." — 1  Pet.  v.  10. 

"  By  the  Grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am  !" 
This  is  the  believer's  eternal  confession. 
Grace  found  him  a  rebel — it  leaves  him  a  son. 
Grace  found  him  wandering  at  the  gates  of 
liell~it  leaves  him  at  the  gates  of  heaven. 
Grace  devised  the  scheme  of  Eedemption. 
Justice  never  would.  Eeason  never  could. 
And  it  is  Grace  which  carries  out  that  scheme. 
ISTo  sinner  would  ever  have  sought  his  God 
but  "  by  grace."  The  thickets  of  Eden  would 
have  proved  Adam's  grave  had  not  grace 
called  him  out.  Saul  would  have  lived  and 
died  the  haughty  self-righteous  persecutor  had 
not  grace  laid  him  low.  The  thief  would  have 
continued  breathing  out  his  blasphemies  had 


40  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

not  g^^ace  arrested  his  tongue  and  tuned  it 
for  glory.  "  Out  of  the  knottiest  timber," 
says  Rutherford,  ^'  He  can  make  vessels  of 
mercy  for  service  in  the  high  palace  of 
glory." 

"  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered."  says  Top- 
lady,  "  may  be  inscribed  by  the  Saviour  on 
every  monument  of  grace.  I  came  to  the  sin- 
ner ;  I  looked  upon  him  ;  and  with  a  look  of 
omnipotent  love,  I  conquered^ 

My  soul !  thou  wouldst  have  been  this  day 
a  wandering  star,  to  whom  is  reserved  the 
blackness  of  darkness — Christless — ^hopeless — 
portionless — had  not  grace  invited  thee,  and 
grace  constrained  thee  !  And  it  is  grace 
which,  at  this  moment,  keeps  thee  !  Thou 
hast  often  been  a  Peter — forsaking  thy  Lord, 
but  brought  back  to  Him  again.  "Why  not 
a  Demas  or  a  Judas  ?  "7  have  jprayed  for 
thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not^  Is  not  this 
thine  own  comment  and  reflection  on  life's 
retrospect  ? — "  Yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  which  was  with  me !" 


r- 


ON   THY    GRACE. 


41 


Seek  to  realize  thy  continual  dependence 
on  this  grace  every  moment.  "  More  grace  ! 
more  grace  !"  would  need  to  be  thy  continual 
cry.  But  the  infinite  supply  is  commensu- 
rate with  the  infinite  need.  The  treasury  of 
grace,  though  always  emptying,  is  always 
full :  the  key  of  prayer  which  opens  it  is  al- 
ways at  hand  :  and  the  Almighty  almoner  of 
the  blessings  of  grace  is  always  *'  waiting  to 
he  gracious  P^  The  recorded  promise  never 
can  be  cancelled  or  reversed — "  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee !" 

Header !  seek  to  dwell  much  on  this  inex- 
haustible theme :  The  grace  of  God  is  the 
source  of  minor  temporal  as  well  as  of  higher 
spiritual  blessings.  It  accounts  for  the  crumb 
of  daily  bread  as  well  as  for  the  crown  of 
eternal  glory.  But  even  in  regard  to  earthly 
mercies,  never  forget  the  channel  of  grace — 
"  through  Christ  Jesus  !"  It  is  sweet  thus  to 
connect  every  (even  the  smallest  and  humblest) 
token  of  providential  bounty  with  Calvary's 
cross — to  have  the  common  blessings  of  life 


42  THE   NIGHT    WATCHES. 

stamped  with  "  the  print  of  the  nails  !"  It 
makes  them  doubly  precious  to  think,  "  This 
flows  from  Jesus  !" 

"  When  with  dear  friends  sweet  talk  I  hold, 
And  all  the  flowers  of  life  unfold ; — 
Let  not  my  heart  within  me  burn, 
Except  in  all  I  Thee  discern  1" 

Let  others  be  contented  with  the  uncove- 
nanted  mercies  of  God.  Be  it  mine  to  say, 
as  the  child  of  grace  and  heir  of  glory — "  Our 
Father  which  art  in  heaven,  give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread  !"  Nay,  reposing  in  the  "  all- 
suflficiency  in  all  things"  promised  by  the 
God  of  all  grace, 

**  I    WILL   BOTH   LAY    ME   DOWN   IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP ;   FOR   THOU; 
LORD,    ONLY    MAKEST   ME    DWELL   IN    SAFETY  l" 


%nt\   iig|t. 


ON    THY    TENDEBNESS. 


"He  shall  gather  the  laraha  -with  His  axra,  and  carry 
them  in  His  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that 
are  -with  young." — Isa.  xi.  11. 

How  soothing,  in  the  hour  of  sorrow,  or  be- 
reavement, or  death,  to  have  the  countenance 
and  sympathy  of  a  tender  earthly  friend  ! 
My  soul !  these  words  tell  thee  of  one  nearer, 
dearer,  tenderer  still — the  Friend  that  never 
fails — a  tender  God  !  By  how  many  endear- 
ing epithets  does  Jesus  exhibit  the  tenderness 
of  His  affection  to  His  people !  Does  a 
shepherd  watch  tenderly  over  his  flock  ? 
"  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd  !"  Does  a  father 
exercise  fondest  solicitude  towards  his  chil- 
dren ?  "  I  will  be  a  Father  unto  you  !"  Does 
a  mother^s  love  exceed  all  other  earthly  types 


44  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

of  affectionate  tenderness  ?  "  As  one  whom 
his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you !" 
Is  the  ajjple  of  the  eye  the  most  susceptible 
part  of  the  most  delicate  bodily  organ  ?  "He 
keeps  them  as  the  apple  of  His  eye  !" 

"  He  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed  !" 
"When  the  "  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  Souls" 
finds  the  sinner  like  a  lost  sheep,  stumbling 
on  the  dark  mountains,  how  tenderly  He 
deals  with  him  !  There  is  no  look  of  wrath — 
no  word  of  upbraiding — in  silent  love  "  He 
lays  him  on  His  shoulders  rejoicing  !" 

When  Peter  falls,  He  does  not  unnecessa- 
rily wound  him.  He  might  have  repeated 
often  and  again  the  piercing  look  which 
brought  the  flood  of  penitential  sorrow.  But 
He  gave  that  look  only  once  /  and  if  He  re- 
minds him  again  of  his  threefold  denial,  it  is 
by  thrice  repeating  the  gentlest  of  questions, 
"  Lovest  thou  me  ?" 

My  soul !  art  thou  mourning  over  the  weak- 
ness of  thy  faith — the  coldness  of  thy  love — 
thy   manifold    spiritual    declensions  ?     Fear 


ON    THY    TENDERNESS.  45 

not !  He  knows  thy  frame — He  will  give 
feeble  faith  tender  dealing — He  will  "  carry" 
in  His  arms  those  that  are  unable  to  walk, 
and  will  conduct  the  burdened  ones  through 
a  path  less  rough  and  rugged  than  others. 
When  "  the  Lion"  or  "the  Bear"  comes,  thou 
mayest  trust  the  true  David,  the  tenderest  of 
shepherds  !  Art  thou  suffering  from  outward 
trial  ?  Confide  in  the  tenderness  of  thy  God's 
dealings  with  thee.  The  strokes  of  His  rod 
are  gentle  strokes — the  needed  discipline  of 
a  father  yearning  over  his  children  the  very 
moment  He  is  chastising  them  !  The  gentlest 
earthly  parent  may  speak  a  harsh  word  at 
times — it  may  be,  needlessly  harsh.  But  not 
so  GOD.  "  He  may  seem,  like  Joseph  to  his 
brethren,  to  speak  roughly  ;  but  all  the  while 
there  is  love  in  His  heart !"  The  pruning-hook 
will  not  be  used  unnecessarily.  It  will  never 
cut  too  deeply.  The  furnace  will  not  burn 
more  fiercely  than  is  absolutely  required.  A 
tender  God  is  seated  by  it,  tempering  the  fury 
of  its  flames. 


46  THE  NIGHT   WATCHES. 

And  what,  believer,  is  the  secret  of  all  this 
tenderness  ?  "  There  is  a  Man  upon  the 
Throne  /"  Jesus — the  God-Man  Mediator  ; 
combining,  with  all  the  might  of  Godhead, 
all  the  tenderness  of  spotless  humanity.  Is 
thy  heart  crushed  with  sorrow  ? — so  was  His  ! 
Are  thine  eyes  dimmed  with  tears  ? — so  were 
His!  "Jesus  wept!"  Bethany's  "Chief 
Mourner"  still  wears  the  Brother's  heart  in 
glory.  Others  may  be  unable  to  enter  into 
the  depths  of  thy  trial.     He  can — He  does  I 

With  such  a  "  tender  God"  caring  for  me, 
providing  for  me,  watching  my  path  by  day, 
and  guarding  my  couch  by  night — 

"l  WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME  DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP;    FOR  THOU 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME    DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


ON  THY  PATIENCE. 

"  The  God  of  Patience." — Rom.  xv.  5. 

There  is  no  more  wondrous  subject  than 
this— ^' The  Patience  of  God!"  Think  of 
the  lapse  of  ages  during  which  that  patience 
has  lasted— 6000  years  !  Think  of  the  multi- 
tudes who  have  been  the  subjects  of  it — Mil- 
lions on  millions,  in.  successive  climes  and 
centuries  !  Think  of  the  sins  which  have  all 
that  time  been  trying  and  wearying  that  pa- 
tience— their  number,  their  heinousness — 
their  aggravation  !  The  w^orld's  history  is  a 
consecutive  history  of  iniquity,  a  lengthened 
provocation  of  the  Almighty's  forbearance  ! 
The  Church,  like  a  feeble  ark,  tossed  on  a 
n:iighty  ocean  of  unbelief ;  and  yet  the  world, 


4:8  THE   NIGHT    WATCHES. 

with  its  cumberers,  still  spared!     The  cry  of 
its  sinful  millions  at  this  moment  enter  "the 
ears  of  the  God  of  Sabaoth,"  and  yet,  "  for  all 
this,  His  hand  of  mercy  is  stretched  out  still !"     | 
And  who  is  this  God  of  patience  ?     It  is     I 

the  Almighty  Being  who  could  strike  these     i 

i 


millions  down  in  a  moment! — who  could,  by  a 
breath,  annihilate  the  world ! — nay,  who  would 
require  no  positive  or  visible  forth-putting  of 
His  omnipotence  to  effect  this,  but  simply  to 
withdraw  His  sustaining  arm  ! 

Surely,  of  all  the  examples  of  the  Al- 
mighty's power,  there  is  none  more  wondrous 
or  amazing  than  "God's  power  over  Him- 
self." He  is  "  slow  to  anger."  "  Judgment 
is  His  strange  work."  He  "  visits  iniquity 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation."  He 
"  shows  mercy  unto  thousands  of  generations  !'^ 
God  bears  for  1500  years,  from  Moses  to  Je- 
sus, with  Israel's  unbelief;  and  yet,  as  a 
pious  writer  remarks,  "  He  speaks  of  it  as 
but  a  day  ;"  "  All  day  long  have  I  stretched 
out  my  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying 


ON   THY   PATIENCE.  49 

people."  What  is  the  history  of  all  this 
tenderness  ?  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your 
tlioughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways, 
saith  the  Lord !" 

My  soul !  How  great  has  been  God's  pa- 
tience towards  thee  !  In  thine  unconverted 
state,  when  a  wanderer  from  His  fold,  with 
what  unwearied  love  He  went  after  thee ; 
notwithstanding  all  thy  waywardness,  never 
ceasing  the  pursuit  ''^  until  He  found  thee  !" 
Think  of  thy  fainting  and  weariness  since — 
thine  ever-changing  frames  and  feelings ;  the 
ebbings  and  the  flowings  in  the  tide  of  thy 
love,  and  yet,  instead  of  surrendering  thee  to 
thine  own  perverse  will,  His  language  con- 
cerning thee  is,  '*  How  can  I  give  thee  up  ?" 
For  a  lifetime,  thy  Saviour-God  has  been 
standing  knocking  at  thy  door ;  and  His  attl- 
tude  is  still  the  same — "Behold,  I  stand  P'' 

"  But  faiuter  than  the  pole-star's  ray 
Before  the  noontide  blaze  of  day, 
Is  all  of  love  that  man  can  know — 
All  that  in  angels'  breasts  can  glow — 
5 


60  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

Compared,  O  Lord  of  hosts  !  witb  thine, 
Unwearied  !  fathomless  !  Divine  !" 

How  should  the  patience  of  Jesus  lead  me 
to  be  submissive  under  trial !  "When  He  has 
so  long  borne  with  me,  shall  not  I  "  bear" 
with  Him  ?  When  I  think  of  His  patience 
under  a  far  heavier  cross,  can  /  murmur 
when  He  murmured  not  f  ]N"ay,  I  will  check 
every  ripening  thought,  and  looking  up,  in 
confiding  affection,  to  "  the  God  of  all  pa- 
tience," 

"  I  WILL   BOTH  LAY  ME    DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP  J    FOR  THOU; 
LORD,  ONLY  MAKE8T  ME  DWELL  IN  SuVFETY  !" 


ON    THY    FAITHFULNESS. 

"  Th.7  faithfulness  Teadaeth  unto  the  clouds?" — 
Ps.  xrxvi.  5. 

It  has  been  well  said,  that  "  the  universe 
around  us  is  a  parable  of  grace."  "  As  the 
mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem,  so 
doth  the  Lord  compass  His  people !"  But 
firmer  than  even  these  types  of  immutability 
in  the  kingdom  of  nature  is  the  word  of  a 
covenant-keeping  God  in  the  kingdom  of 
grace.  These  mountains  (nature's  best  em- 
blems of  steadfastness)  may  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed,  ''  Jt^^,"  says  their  almighty 
Maker,  "  my  kindness  shall  not  be  taken 
from  thee !" 

We  can  look  upwards  to  the  stars  of  night, 
and  see  the  "  faithfulness"  of  God  "  estab- 


52  THE    NIGHT    WATCHES. 

lisliecl"  in  the  material  heavens — "  This  day 
they  stand  as  Thou  ordainest !"  But  these 
are  feeble  types  and  symbols  of  brighter  con- 
stellations in  the  spiritual  firmament — the 
declarations  of  an  unchanging  God — '-^  Thy 
vjord  is  forever  settled  in  heaven  !" 

What  a  gracious  assurance  amid  our  own 
unfaithfulness,  "  The  Lord  is  faithful !" — that 
the  unfaithfulness  of  the  believer  never  al- 
ters, and  can  never  alter,  the  faithfulness  of 
God! 

My  soul !  anchor  thyself  on  this  rock  of  the 
Divine  veracity.  Take  hold  of  that  blessed 
parenthesis  which  has  been  to  many  a  tossed 
soul  as  a  polar  star  in  its  nights  of  darkness — - 
"  Having  loved  His  own  which  were  in  the 
world,  He  loved  them  even  unto  the  end." 
He  loves  them  in  life — loves  them  in  death — 
loves  them  through  death — loves  them  into 
glory  ! 

Art  thou  not  at  this  hour  a  monument  of 
God's  faithfulness  ?  Where  wouldst  thou 
have  been  had  not  the  magnet  of  His  grace 


ON   THY   FAITHFULNESS.  63 

kept  thee,  and  drawn  thy  fugitive  affections 
towards  Himself?  From  how  many  tempta- 
tions has  He  rescued  thee — ^laying  hold  of 
thee  on  the  precipice,  when  about  to  plunge 
headlong  down — employing  sometimes  con- 
straining^  at  others  restraining  grace — mak- 
ing this  thy  brief  history,  "  Kept  by  the 
power  of  God,"  and  overruling  all — all  for 
His  own  glory,  and  thine  own  good  ? 

I  love  to  think  of  Thy  faithfulness,  O  thou 
''''Tried  stone,"  "  laid  in  Zion  !"  Thou  wert 
tried  by  the  Law — by  Justice — by  Men — by 
Devils,  and  yet  Thou  wert  faithful !  Thou 
hast  been  tried  by  Prophets  and  Apostles  ; 
by  Martyrs  and  Saints  ;  by  youthful  sinners, 
and  aged  sinners,  and  dying  sinners, — and 
Thou  hast  been  found  faithful  hy  all  and  to 
all ;  and  Thou  art  faithful  still ! 

My  soul !  never  suppose,  amid  the  faith- 
lessness of  earth's  trusted  friends,  that  thou 
art  doomed  to  tread  thy  way  in  loneliness 
and  solitude  ;  there  is  more  than  one  Emmaus 
journey  I  The  "  Abiding"  Friend  is  left  I 
5* 


54 


THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 


He  is  always  the  same  !  "He  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary !"  His  faithfulness  is  a 
tried  faithfulness  !  His  word  is  a  tried  word  ! 
His  friendship  is  a  tried  friendship  !  He  is 
always  "  better  than  His  word !"  He  pays 
with  usury  ! 

"Oh !  who  could  bear  life's  stormy  doom, 

Did  not  Thy  word  of  love 
Come  brightly  bearing  through  the  gloom, 

A  peace-branch  from  above  ! 
Then  Sorrow,  touch'd  by  Thee,  grows  bright, 

With  more  than  rapture's  ray, 
As  darkness  shows  us  worlds  of  light 

We  never  saw  by  day !"  / 

When  I  think  that  at  this  very  moment  the 
eye  of  that  faithful  Saviour-God  is  upon  me — 


1  WILL  BOTH  LAY    ME    DOWN   IN    PEACE    AND    SLEEP  ;    FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


ON   THY   SOVEREIGNTY. 

'  He  doetlL  according  to  His  will  in  the  army  of  heaven, 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth." — Dan.  iv.  35. 


How  blessed  that  elementary  truth — "The 
Lord  reign eth  !"  To  know  that  there  is  no 
chance  or  accident  with  God — that  He  de- 
crees the  fall  of  a  sparrow — ^the  destruction 
of  an  atom — ^the  annihilation  of  a  "World  ! 

The  Almighty  is  not  like  Baal,  "  asleep." 
"  He  that  keepeth  Israel"  can  never  for  a  mo- 
ment "  slumber."  "  Man^r^poses — God  dis- 
poses."  '^Thou  didst  it!"  is  the  history  of 
every  event,  past,  present,  and  to  come.  His 
purposes  none  can  change — His  counsels  none 
can  resist ! 

My  soul !  how  cheering  to  know  that  all 
that  befalls  thee  and  thine  is  thus  ordered  in 


56  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

the  eternal  purpose  of  a  Covenant  God ! 
Every  minute  circumstance  of  thy  lot — ap- 
pointing the  bounds  of  thy  habitation — 
meting  out  every  drop  in  the  cup  of  life — ar- 
ranging what  by  thee  is  called  its  "  vicissi- 
tudes"— decreeing  all  its  trials,  and  at  last, 
as  the  great  Proprietor  of  life,  revoking  the 
lease  of  existence  when  its  allotted  term  has 
expired ! 

How  it  would  keep  the  mind  from  its 
guilty  proneness  to  brood  and  fret  over  sec- 
ond causes,  were  this  grand  but  simple  truth 
ever  realized — that  all  that  befalls  us  are  in- 
tegral parts  in  a  stupendous  j)lan  of  wisdom 
— that  there  is  no  crossing  or  thwarting  the 
designs  and  dealings  of  God  ;  none  can  say, 
"What  doest  Thou  ?"— all  ougU  to  say,  "  He 
doeth  all  things  well." 

We  dare  not  venture,  with  presumptuous 
gaze,  to  penetrate  into  "  those  secret  things 
which  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God."  In 
all  that  is  fitted  in  the  consideration  of  this 
august  theme  of  the  Divine  Decrees  to  im- 


ON   THY   SOVEREIGNTY.  67 

part  encouragement  and  consolation,  let  us 
rejoice  ;  in  all  that  is  mysterious  and  incom- 
prehensible, let  us  with  childlike  reverence 
exclaim,  "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God !  How 
unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His 
ways  past  finding  out !" 

The  contemplation  of  the  Sovereignty  of 
God  formed  subject-matter  of  rejoicing  to  the 
Saviour  himself  in  His  humiliation  :  "  Even 
so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth  good  in  Thy 
sight !"  And  what  supplied  material  for 
comfort  and  joy  to  an  Almighty  Sufferer  may 
well  dry  the  tears  and  soothe  the  pangs  of 
His  suffering  people. 

O  how  sinners  may  magnify  their  God  by 
a  calm  submission  to  His  will,  seeing  no  hand 
but  One  in  their  trials — in  giving  or  taking  : 
"The  Lord  gave — the  Lord  taketh  away!" 
"  AYho  knoweth  not  in  all  these  things  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  hath  done  this  ?" 

"  Till  Death  the  weary  spirit  free, 
My  God  hath  said,  'Tis  good  for  thee, 


58  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

To  -walk  in  faith,  and  not  by  sight. 

Take  it  on  trust  a  little  while, 
Soon  shalt  thou  read  the  mystery  right, 

la  the  full  sunshine  of  His  smile  1" 

Will  it  not  further  help  to  the  breathing  of 
the  prayer,  "  Thy  will  be  done,"  when  I  thiiik, 
in  connection  with  the  Sovereignty  of  God,  of 
the  grand  end  of  His  immutable  decrees — ''  It 
is  His  own  glory  !"  "  Of  Him,  and  through 
Him,  and  to  Him,  are  all  things  P"^  What 
more  can  I  desire  ? — "  all  things  God's  glory 
and  my  own  good ! — 

**  I   WILL     BOTH     LAT     ME     DOWN     IN     PEACE     AND     SLEEP  ;     FOR 
THOU,    LOED,    ONLY    MAKEST    ME    DWELL    IN  SAFETY  !" 


ianttttuU)   iliglrt, 


ON   THY   PEOVIDENCE. 


"Hia  Kingdom  ruleth.  over  all." — Ps.  ciii.  19. 

My  Soul  !  try  to  see  God  in  everything,  and 
everything  in  God  !  Lose  thine  own  will  in 
His.  Enter  on  no  pursuit,  engage  in  no  plan, 
without  Paul's  prayer  and  condition,  "If  so 
the  will  of  the  Lord  be."  How  it  would  hal- 
low prosperity  and  sweeten  adversity,  thus, 
in  all  things,  to  follow  like  Israel  the  Guiding 
Pillar — at  Sts  bidding  to  pitch  our  tents — at 
His  bidding  to  strike  for  march.  Each  prov- 
idence has  a  voice,  if  we  would  only  hear  it. 
It  is  a  finger-post  in  the  journey,  pointing  us 
to  "  the  right  way,  that  we  may  go  to  the  city 
of  habitation  !" 

Often  what  a  mystic  volume  Providence  is  ! 
— its  every  page  full  of  dark  hieroglyphics. 


60  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

to  whicli  earth  can  furnisli  no  key.  But  faith, 
falls  back  on  the  assurance  that  "  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  must  do  right " — the  Father 
of  all  His  people  cannot  do  wrong.  To  the 
common  observer,  the  stars  in  the  nightly 
heavens  are  all  confused  masses,  pursuing  de- 
vious and  erratic  courses.  But  to  the  astron- 
omer, each  has  its  allotted  and  prescribed 
pathway,  and  all  are  preserving  inviolate  one 
universal  law  of  harmony  and  order.  It  is 
faith's  loftiest  prerogative,  patiently  to  wait 
till  that  day  of  disclosures,  when  page  by  page 
of  the  mystic  book  will  be  unravelled,  and 
when  the  believer  himself  will  endorse  every 
page  with,  "It  is  well !" 

Providences  may  even  seem  to  be  getting 
darker,  merging  like  declining  day  into  the 
shadows  of  twilight.  But,  contrary  to  nature, 
and  to  the  Christian's  expectations,  "  At  even- 
ing  time  it  shall  be  light !"  The  gathering 
cloud  will  then  be  seen  to  be  fraught  only 
with  blessings,  whicli  will  burst  on  the  Be- 
I       liever's  head. 


ON   THY    PKOVIDENCE.  61 

My  soul !  "  be  still,  and  know  that  He  is 
God  !"  "  Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patient- 
ly foi'  Him."  The  mysterious  "  wherefore" 
thou  hast  so  long  been  waiting  for  will  soon 
be  revealed.  The  long  night-watch  will  soon 
terminate — in  the  long  looked-for,  longed-for 
morning ! 

"  My  God  !  my  Father  !  while  I  stray 
Far  from  my  home  on  life's  rough  way, 
O  teach  me  from  my  heart  to  say — 
Thy  will  be  done  1 

"  Then  when  on  earth  I  breathe  no  more 
The  prayer  oft  mix'd  with  tears  before, 
I'll  sing,  when  on  a  happier  shore — 
Thy  will  be  done  l" 

Blessed  Lord  !  my  pilgrimage  path  is  stud- 
ded thick  with  Ebenezers  testifying  to  Thy 
faithfulness  and  mercy.  I  love  to  think  of 
Thy  manifold  gracious  interpositions  in  the 
past ! — God  sustaining  me  in  trial — God  sup- 
porting me  in  perplexity — God  rescuing  me 
when  in  temptation — God  helping  me  when 
"  vain  was  the  help  of  man  !"     '^  When  my 


62  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

foot  slipped,  Thy  mercy,  *0  Lord,  held  me 
up !"  And  shall  I  not  take  all  Thy  goodness 
manifested  hitherto  as  a  pledge  of  faithful- 
ness in  the  future  ?  In  full  confidence  of  my 
God  being  a  "  rich  Provider,"  I  shall  take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow,  but  repose  in  this  cov- 
enant assurahce  of  a  covenant-keeping  God ! 
— "  I  will  never  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee  !" 
"Thou  hast  heen  my  help,  therefore  in  the 
shadow  of  Thy  wings  will  I  rejoice  !" 

"l     WILL    BOTH     LAY     ME     DOWN    IN     PEACE     AND     SLEEP;   FOE 
THOU,    LOKD,    ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  1" 


THY   WORD. 

"  Thy  -word  is  a  lamp  to  ray  feet." — Ps.  cxiz.  105. 

Man's  word  disappoints — God's  word,  never! 
"The  Word  of  the  Lord  is  tried."  It  has 
been  tried  by  the  sinner  ;  he  neglected  it  and 
perished  !  It  has  been  tried  by  the  saint ;  he 
has  believed  it  and  been  saved  ! 

What  a  precious  legacy  of  God  to  our 
world !  The  volume  of  nature,  much  as  it 
teaches,  is  dumb  on  the  question  of  a  sinner's 
acceptance.  The  Scriptures  alone  can  solve 
the  enigma,  "  How  is  God  to  deal  with  the 
guilty?"  That  question  unanswered — in 
peace  we  could  not  live,  in  peace  we  dared 
not  die  !  But  glad  tidings,  oh  !  precious  mes- 
senger from  God,  hast   thou   brought   to   a 


64  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

doomed  earth — "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
He  gave  His  only-begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever belie veth  in  Him  might  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life  !"  Were  there  no  more 
in  this  Divine  communication  than  that  one 
brief  entry,  the  Bible  would  still  be  better  to 
us  than  "  thousands  of  gold  and  silver." 

But  it  is  a  vast  magazine  and  emporium  of 
heavenly  wisdom — free  to  all — suited  for  all 
— intended  for  all — offered  to  all ; — an*  inex- 
haustible mine — the  deeper  you  dig,  the 
richer  the  ore.  It  has  a  word  in  season  for 
rich  and  poor,  young  and  old — for  the 
wandering — the  doubting — the  sorrowing — 
the  believing — the  dying — the  perishing  ! 
Reader !  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  His  Word, 
and  with  the  docility  of  a  little  child,  say, 
"  Speak,  Lord  !"  Approach  it  ever  as  if  it 
met  you  with  the  living  salutation,  "  I  have  a 
message  from  God  for  thee  P''  There  are  dif- 
ferences in  every  heart-chamber,  but  this  key 
fits  every  door.  Make  it  a  faithful  mirror,  in 
which  you  see  a  reflection  of  yourself.    The 


THY    WORD.  65 

more  faithfully  it  is  held  up,  the  more  will 
the  sense  of  deficiency  and  defilement  drive 
you  to  the  atoning  blood  ! 

In  all  your  difliculties,  make  it  "  the  man 
of  your  counsel ;"  in  all  your  perplexities, 
make  it  your  interpreter  and  guide  ;  in  all 
your  sorrows,  make  it  your  fountain  of  conso- 
lation ;  in  all  yom-  temptations,  make  it  your 
ultimate  court  of  appeal.  When  venturing 
on  debatable  ground,  let  this  deter  thee — 
"What  saith  the  Scripture?"  When  assailed, 
let  this  protect  and  defend  thee — "  It  is  writ- 
ten !" 

Precious  at  all  times,  it  is  especially  precious 
in  "  the  dark  and  cloudy  day."  We  may  do 
without  our  beacon  by  day ;  but  where  are 
we  without  it  in  the  midnight  tempestuous 
sea  ?  "I  should  have  perished,"  says  a  sink- 
ing cast-away,  "  in  mine  affliction,  but  Thy 

Word  hath  quickened  me." 

• 

"  Oft  as  I  lay  me  down  to  rest, 
O  may  the  reconciling  Word 
Sweetly  compose  my  weary  breast ; 
Wliile  on  the  bosom  of  my  Lord 
6* 


66  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

I  sink  in  blissful  dreams  away, 
And  visions  of  eternal  day  l" 

Be  it  mine  to  look  forward  to  that  blessed 
time,  when  the  intervention  of  that  Word, 
and  all  other  means  of  grace,  will  terminate, 
for,  in  heaven  "  they  need  no  candle !" 
Meanwhile,  pillowing  my  head  on  the  "Word 
of  the  eternal  God,  and  with  these  glorious 
prospects  in  view — 

"  I  WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME   DOWN   IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;   FOE  THOU, 
LOSD,  ONLY  MAKEST  MB   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  T 


ON    TH7    ORDINANCES. 

"Witli  joy  shall  ye  draw  -water  out  of  the  wells  of  sal- 
vation."— IsA.  xii.  3. 

My  Soul  !  thou  art  here  far  from  thy  true 
Home.  A  wilderness  is  thy  place  of  sojourn ; 
but  Immanuel  has  provided  wells  in  this 
Baca — this  vale  of  weeping — for  the  refresh- 
ment of  His  pilgrims  !  In  merciful  adapta- 
tion to  their  weakness  and  wants,  He  has  fur- 
nished means  and  instrumentality  to  keep 
alive  the  flame  that  would  otherwise  languish 
and  decay.  These  are  the  golden  pipes 
which  convey  the  living  water  to  the  soul, 
fed  by  Christ  himself  from  the  great  cistern 
of  His  own  grace. 

Header !  dost  thou  love  the  ordinances  of 
God's  appointment  ?    Is  the  Sabbath  to  thee  a 


bo  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

holy  and  welcome  season  ?  Dost  thou  gladly 
respond  to  the  summons,  "  Go  ye  up  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord  ?"  Hast  thou  felt  that  it 
is  there  that  "  He  commands  the  blessing, 
even  life  for  evermore  ?  Or  holier  ground 
still ;  do  you  rejoice,  as  the  solemn  season 
comes  round,  to  covenant  afresh  with  your 
adorable  Kedeemer  at  His  own  table — to 
record  anew  your  unalterable  attachment  to 
Him  as  your  Lord  and  Master,  and  commem- 
orate His  dying,  ever-living  love  ? 

See  that  it  be  not  the  reverse  of  all  this. 
Do  the  hours  of  the  Sabbath,  once  a  delight 
— "  day  of  all  the  week  the  best" — hang 
heavily  upon  you  ?  Is  prayer  less  a  privilege 
than  it  was  ?  Is  the  closet  less  habitually 
frequented  ?  Is  the  fire  burning  with  a  sicklier 
glow  on  the  domestic  altar  ?  Have  the  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary  become  more  matter 
for  the  head  than  for  the  heart  ?  Be  assured 
these  are  lamentable  symptoms  of  declension 
— tokens  of  a  backward  and  downward  state. 
"Ye  did  run  well — who  did  hinder  you?" 


ON   THY   ORDINANCES.  69 

Eeturn  forthwith  to  the  deserted  closet — 
crucify  forthwith  the  deadening  sin.  Hast 
thou  not  abjured  it,  over  and  over,  at  a  com- 
munion table  ?  Why  suffer  it  again  to  have 
dominion  over  thee — robbing  thee  of  all  thy 
joy — extracting  all  relish  from  ordinances — 
impeding  grace — grieving  the  Spirit?  Lose 
no  time  in  seeking  restoration  of  lost  filial 
nearness.  "  Eestore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy 
salvation."  The  lost  Bride,  in  the  Canticles, 
found  her  Lord  beside  the  "  Shepherds'  tents ;" 
and  "  of  Zion^  it  shall  be  said.  The  Lord  shall 
count,  when  He  writeth  up  the  people,  that 
this  man  was  born  there .'"  Thou  may  est 
sometimes  have  long  to  wait  at  the  Gospel 
Bethesdas  without  any  visible  blessing  ;  but, 
be  assured,  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  will, 
in  due  time,  come  down  and  show  that  He 
"  is  good  to  them  that  wait  for  Him — to  the 
soul  that  seeketh  Him  !"  "  "Wait,  then,  on 
the  Lord  ;  be  of  good  courage,  and  He  shall 
strengthen  thine  heart !" 

My   soul !    value   ordinances,   but  do  not 


70  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

overvalue  them.  Put  not  ordinances  in  the 
place  of  the  God  of  ordinances.  They  are  at 
best  but  the  pole  to  hold  up  the  brazen  ser- 
pent upon — the  scaffolding  by  which  to  get 
up  beside  the  Chief  corner-stone.  "  Hold 
Thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe  !"  It  is  not 
"  the  altar  of  God,"  but  "  God  Himself;' 
who  is  "  the  exceeding  joy"  of  His  people  ; 
and  thus,  even  if  wasting  health  and  pining 
sickness  should  deprive  me  of  outward  ordi- 
nances, I  may  look  upwards  to  that  God  who, 
though  He  "  loves  the  gates  of  Zion,"  does 
not  forget  "  the  dwellings  of  Jacob,"  and 
say— 

**  I  WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME  DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND    SLEEP ;    FOR  THOU, 
LOED,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME    DWELL    IN   SAFETY  !" 


~T 


ON  THY  SPIRIT. 

"  Take  not  Th3^  Holy  Spirit  from  me."— Ps.  li.  11. 

"  It  is  expedient  foryo  i,"  said  Jesus,  "  that 
I  go  away  :  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comfort- 
er will  not  come  unto  you ;  but  if  I  depart, 
I  will  send  Him  unto  you."  How  momentous 
must  be  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when 
the  adorable  Redeemer  represented  the  blank 
of  His  own  departure  as  being  more  than  in- 
demnified to  His  Church  by  the  presence  of 
this  Divine  Paraclete  ! 

'•It  is  the  Spirit  that  quicken eth."  It  is 
lie  who  is  the  agent  in  the  new  birth  :  "  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
It  is  He  who  enables  the  sinner  by  faith  to  lay 


72  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES. 

hold  on  Jesus,  and  embrace  His  salvation  : 
"  No  man  can  call  Jesus  Lord,  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost."  It  is  He  who  carries  on  the 
progressive  work  of  holiness  ; — we  are  saved 
"  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit."  It  is 
He  who  creates  anew  the  lost  image  of  the 
Godhead,  impresses  on  the  soul  the  lineaments 
of  the  Saviour's  character — "  We  are  trans- 
formed into  the  same  image  from  glory  to 
glory  by  the  Lord  the  Spirit"  (marg.).  It  is 
He  who  illumines  the  page  of  the  Divine  Eec- 
ord — acting  like  a  telescope  to  the  moral 
vision — disclosing  in  the  firmament  of  inspi 
ration  "  wondrous  things"  contained  in  the 
law,  which  the  natural  eye  cannot  see.  It  is 
He  who  unfolds  the  glories  of  the  Redeemer's 
work — the  beauties  of  His  person — the  com- 
pleteness of  His  sacrifice — the  riches  of  His 
grace  ; — "  He  shall  glorify  Me  ;  for  He  sluill 
receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you." 
Nay,  the  soul  of  the  believer  becomes  itself  :i 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost!  Oh,  with  what 
holy  jealousy  would  the  child  of  God  guard 


ON   THY   SPIRIT.         ^  73 

every  avenue  to  temptation,  if  this  amazing 
truth  exercised  its  habitual  and  solemnizing 
power  over  him — "  The  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
witliin  me  !"  How  would  he  avoid  anything 
and  everything  by  which  he  would  be  likely 
to  "  grieve"  this  blessed  Agent,  "  whereby 
he  is  sealed  imtil  the  day  of  redemption  !" 

"  Behold  !"  He  seems  to  say,  "  I  make  all 
things  new."  The  initial  operation  is  His — 
He  broods  over  the  face  of  the  spiritual  chaos, 
saying,  "Let  there  be  light."  The  closing 
and  consummating  grace  is  His, — He  con- 
ducts the  spirit  through  the  swellings  of  Jor- 
dan, till  it  joins  with  the  ransomed  multitude 
before  the  throne,  in  ascribing  to  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  the  glories  of  a  completed 
salvation. 

"  Take  not,  then,  O  God  !  thy  Holy  Spirit 
from  me."  In  vain  are  the  word,  ordinances, 
sacraments,  sermons,  prayers,  without  Him. 
All  are  in  themselves  passive  instruments  ; 
His  is  the  omnipotent  arm  which  wields  and 


j       vauquislies. 

i 


74  ,THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

Our  adorable  Eedeemer — the  great  High 
Priest — was  Himself  anointed  with  the  Holy 
Spirit.  That  anointing  oil,  poured  upon  the 
Church's  living  Head,  "runs  down  to  the 
skirts  of  His  garment,"  anointing,  as  it  flows, 
all  His  members,  and  those  that  are  lowest 
and  humblest — (nearest  the  skirts) — receive 
the  most ! 

My  soul!  if  this  be  thy  position — at  the 
feet  of  Jesus — the  blessed  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  streaming  down  upon  thee  in  co-       j 
pious   efl'usion,   sanctifying   thee   more    and 
more,  and  making  thee  more  meet  for  glory       i 
I     — then  thou  may  est  well  say,  night  after  night, 
I     until  the  day-spring  of  that  glory  burst  upon       j 
i     thee—  ! 

I  I 

I  '  I    WILL    BOTH    LAY    ME    DOWN   IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;    FOR    THOU,  j 

I  LORD,    ONLY    MAKEST    ME    DWELL    IN    SAFETY  !"  | 

I  \ 


ON    THY    PROMISES. 

"All  the  promises  of  God  in  Him  are  Tea,  and  in  Him 
Amen."— 2  Cob.  i.  20. 

God  has  made  a  Will,  or  Testament,  in  be- 
half of  His  people  !  It  is  signed  and  sealed. 
It  cannot  be  altered — nothing  can  denude  ns 
of  our  patrimony.  The  bequest  is  His  own 
"  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises." 
"What  a  heritage  ! — All  that  the  sinner  re- 
quires— all  that  the  sinner's  God  can  give. 
In  this  testamentary  deed  there  are  no  contin- 
gencies, no  peradventures.  The  testator  com- 
mences it  with  the  sure  guarantee  for  its  every 
jot  and  tittle  being  fulfilled,  "  Yerily,  verily, 
/say  unto  you  !"  He  endorses  every  promise, 
and  every  page,  with  a  "Yea,  and  Amen." 
"  God,  willing  more  abundantly  to  show  to 


ib  THE    NIGHT    WATCHES. 

the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of  his 
counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath  !" 

But  who  provided  such  a  rich  Promise 
Treasury  ?  What  is  the  source,  where  the 
fountain-head,  from  which  these  streams  of 
mercy  flow  to  the  Church  ?  "Z?i  Him."  Be- 
liever !  from  Jesus  every  promise  is  derived 
— in  Jesus  every  promise  centres  !  Pardon, 
peace,  adoption,  consolation,  eternal  life — all 
"  in  Him !"  In  Him  you  are  "  chosen," 
''called,"  "justified,"  "sanctified,"  "glori- 
fied." You  have  in  possession  all  the  bless- 
ings of  present  grace  ;  you  have  in  reversion 
all  the  happiness  of  coming  glory  :  and  "  He 
is  faithful  that  promised  !"  Your  friend 
may  deceive  thee — the  world  has  deceived 
you — He  never  will !  Myriads  in  glory  are 
there  to  tell  how  "not  one  thing  hath  failed 
of  all  that  the  Lord  their  God  hath  spoken." 
Rely  on  this  faithfulness — He  gave  His  Son 
for  you.  After  the  greater  blessing,  surely 
for  subordinate  ones  you  may  trust  Him. 

And  where  do  these  promises  beam  most 


ON   THY   PROMISES.  77 

brightly  ?  Like  the  stars,  it  is  in  the  night ! 
In  the  midnight  of  trial — when  the  sun  of 
earthly  prosperity  has  set — when  deep  is  call- 
ing to  deep,  and  wave  to  wave  ;  when  tempt- 
ed, bereaved,  beaten  down  with  "  a  great 
fight  of  afflictions" — the  spiritual  firmament, 
with  its  galaxy  of  Promises,  will  be  brightest 
and  clearest ! 

"  Oh !  who  could  bear  life's  stormy  doom, 

Did  not  Thy  Word  of  Love 
Come  brightly  bearing  through  the  gloom, 

A  Palm-branch  from  above  ? 
Then  sorrow  touch'd  by  Thee  grows  bright, 

With  more  than  rapture's  ray  ; 
Ab  darkness  shows  us  worlds  of  light 

We  never  saw  by  day  !" 

But  be  not  deceived  ;  the  night  of  sorrow 
cannot  in  itself  give  you  the  comfort  of  the 
Divine  Promises.  It  may  be  night,  and  yet 
the  stars  invisible.  It  is  only  "in  Him''^ 
these  promises  can  be  discerned  in  their  lus- 
ti'e.  My  soul !  if  "  out  of  Christ,"  these  stars 
of  Gospel  promise  shine  in  vain  to  thee  ;  they 
have   to  the  unspiritual   eye  no  beauty  or 


78  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

brightness.  In  the  midnight  battle  of  Barak, 
"  the  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sis- 
era."  They  shone  on  Israel,  but  denied  their 
light  to  the  enemies  of  God.  The  guiding 
pillar,  so  lustrous  to  the  chosen  people,  was  a 
column  of  portentous  gloom  to  Pharaoh's  host. 
But  '•  in  Him^''^  as  "  heirs  of  God,"  ye  are 
inheritors  of  "  all  the  promises."  All  the 
promises  !  Oh  !  with  such  a  pillow  whereon 
to  rest  your  aching  head,  you  may  well  re- 
sume your  nightly  song — 

"l    'WILL     BOTH     LAY     ME     DOWN     IN     PEACE     AND     SLEEP",    FOR 
THOU,    LORD,    ONLY   MAKEST   ME    DWELL   IN    SAFETY  1" 


ON  THY  WABNINGS. 

"And  that  -will  "by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." — Ezon-cs 
xxxiv.  7. 

"  He  is  faithful  that  promised.^^  Do  we 
bear  sufficiently  in  mind  another  equal  fideli- 
ty—"  He  is  faithful"  that  threatened  f  My 
soul !  ponder  that  solemn  word,  "  who  will  h^/ 
no  means  clear !"  Remember  when  that  word 
was  spoken  :  it  was  in  connection  with  a  sub- 
lime apocalypse  of  God's  majesty.  It  was  as 
"  the  '  glory'  of  the  Lord"  was  passing  before 
Moses  !  Was  not  this  intended  to  show  that 
there  is  an  awful  and  inseparable  connection 
between  the  Divine  glory  and  the  impossibili- 
ty of  God's  clearing  the  guilty  ?  It  was  at  a 
time,  moreover,  when  the  henignity  of  God 
was  intended  to  be  more  specially  manifested. 


80  THE    NIGHT   WATCHES. 

It  was  when  He  was  declared  to  be  "  the 
Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful,  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  abundant  in  goodness."  Then  it 
was,  we  listen  to  the  awful  note  of  warning, 
that  "  clear  the  guilty"  He  will  not,  and  can- 
not! His  law  requires — the  honor  of  His 
throne  requires — demands — that  the  guilty  be 
'-'-not  cleared." 

Reader  !  art  thou  still  clinging  to  the  dream 
of  final  mercy  ?  Dost  thou  believe  in  the  first 
part  of  the  Divine  proclamation  at  Sinai,  and 
persist  in  presumptuous  and  fatal  skepticism 
with  regard  to  the  last  ? — that,  boundless  in 
His  resources,  and  infinite  in  His  love,  God 
will  by  some  means  "  clear  the  guilty  ?" 

Be  not  deceived  !  See  that  ye  do  not  incur 
the  woe  of  him  who  "  striveth  with  his  Mak- 
er!" The  Lord,  who  ''is  not  slack  concern- 
ing His  promises,"  can  be  as  little  slack  con- 
cerning His  threatenings.  Time  blunts  the 
wrath  of  man,  and  chastens  and  subdues  the 
turbulence  of  his  passions  ;  but  there  is  no 
blind  impulse — no  vacillation  in  Him  with 


ON  THY   WARNINGS.  81 

whom  "  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day." 
"  God's  threatenings,"  says  a  writer,  "  are 
God's  doings  !"  The  law  has  not  one  breath- 
ing of  mercy  for  you.  There  is  not  one  cleft 
in  all  Mount  Sinai  where  you  can  escape  the 
vengeance  of  the  storm !  Unless  you  flee 
without  delay  to  Him  who  has  "  cleared  the 
guilty"  by  Himself — the  Guiltless — becoming 
the  guilt-bearer,  be  assm-ed  that  through  eter- 
nity "  you  will  hy  no  means  be  cleared." 

My  soul !  art  thou  yet  in  this  state  of  peril- 
ous estrangement  ?  still  launched  on  the  cheer- 
less ocean  of  uncertainty,  leaving  everything 
to  a  dying  hour,  the  time  to  which  nothing 
should  be  left,  hut  to  die  !  Ponder  these  liv- 
ing words  of  unchanging  truth — "  Though 
hand  join  in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  es- 
cape unpunished."  The  golden  chain  of  grace 
stretches  from  heaven  to  earth,  but  it  can  go 
no  further — "  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  He  may 
be  found."  "  While  P''  There  is  solemn 
warning  in  that  one  word  !     It  tells  thee  there 


82  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

is  a  day  coming,  when  the  Lord,  will  be  sought, 
but  will  not  be  "  found." 

'  Time's  sun  is  fast  setting — its  twilight  is  nigh — 
Its  evening  is  falling  in  cloud  o'er  the  sky ; 
Its  shadows  are  stretching  in  ominous  gloom. 
Its  midnight  approaches — the  midnight  of  doom  ! 
Then  haste,  sinner,  haste,  there  is  mercy  for  thee, 
And  wrath  is  preparing — flee,  lingerer,  flee  !" 

Reader  !  cast  thyself  this  night  at  His  foot- 
stool ;  implore  His  mercy.  Rise  not  from  thy 
bended  knees,  until,  with  His  propitiated 
smile  gladdening  thee,  and  the  hope  of  His 
heaven  cheering  thee,  thou  mayest  (it  maj^  be 
for  the  first  time  in  thy  life)  lie  down  with  a 
quiet  conscience  and  a  pardoned  soul,  on  thy 
nightly  couch,  exclaiming — 

"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY    ME    DOWN    IN    PEACE    AND    SLEEP  ;    FOR  THOU. 
LOED,  ONLY    MAKEST    ME    DWELL    IN    SAFETY  !" 


ON   THY    CHASTISEMENTS. 

"For   -whom,    the    Lord   loveth.   He    chasteneth." — Hsb. 
xii.   6. 

Chastisement  ! — The  family  badge  —  the 
family  pledge- — the  family  privilege  ! — "  To 
you  it  is  given  to  svffer^  "  Troubles,"  says 
a  good  man,  "  are  in  God's  catalogue  of  mer- 
cies." "  Afflictions,"  says  another,  "  are 
God's  hired  laborers  to  break  the  clods  and 
plough  the  land." 

Believer !  is  the  hand  of  thy  God  heavy 
npon  thee  ?  Has  He  been  breaking  thy  cis- 
terns, withering  thy  gourds,  poisoning  thy 
sweetest  fountains  of  earthly  bliss  ?  Are  tlie 
world's  bright  spots  outnumbered  by  the 
dreary  ?  Has  one  tear  been  following  an- 
other in  quick  succession  ?    Thou  mayest  have 


—  J 


84  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

to  tell,  perhaps,  of  a  varied  experience  of 
triajs.  Every  tender  point  touched — sickness, 
bereavement,  poverty — all  !  Be  still !  If 
thou  art  a  child  of  God,  there  is  no  exemption 
from  "  the  household  discipline."  The  rod  is 
a  father's  ;  the  voice  that  speaks  may  be 
rough,  but  the  hand  that  smites  is  gentle. 
The  furnace  may  be  seven  times  heated,  but 
the  Refiner  is  seated  by.  His  object  is  not 
to  consume,  but  to  purify.  Do  not  misinter- 
pret His  dealings  ;  there  is  mercy  on  the 
wings  of  "  the  rough  wind."  Our  choicest 
fountains  are  fed  from  dark  lowering  clouds. 
All,  be  assured,  will  yet  bear  the  stamp  of 
love.  Sense  cannot  discern  yet  "  the  bright 
light  in  the  clouds."  Aged  Jacob  exclaimed 
at  first,  "  All  these  things  are  against  me  ;" 
but  at  last  he  had  a  calmer  and  a  juster  ver- 
dict, "  His  spirit  revived  !"  "  At  evening 
time  it  was  light."  The  saint  on  earth  can 
say,  regarding  his  trials,  in  faith  and  in  trust, 
"I  hnow^  O  Lord,  that  thy  judgments  are 
right."     The  saint  in  glory  can  go  a  step  far- 


L 


ON   THY    CHASTISEMENTS.  85 

ther,  "  I  see^  O  Lord,  that  they  are  so !" 
His  losses  will  then  be  shown  to  be  his  riches. 
Believer  !  on  a  calm  retrospect  of  thy  heaviest 
afflictions — say,  were  they  nnneeded  ?  Was 
this  (what  Augustine  calls)  ''  the  severe  mer- 
cy of  God's  discipline" — was  it  too  severe  ? 
Less  would  not  have  done.  Like  Jonah,  thou 
never  wouldst  have  awoke  but  for  the  storm  ! 
He  may  have  led  thee  to  a  Zarephath  ("  a 
place  of  furnaces"),  but  it  is  to  show  thee 
there  "  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  God !" 
When  was  God  ever  so  near  to  thee,  or  thou 
to  thy  God  as  in  the  furnace-fires  ?  When 
was  the  presence  and  love  and  sympathy  of 
Jesus  so  precious?  When  "the  Beloved" 
comes  down  from  "  the  Mountain  of  Myrrh" 
—the  "Hill  of  Frankincense"— to  His  "Gar- 
den on  Earth,"  He  can  get  no  fragrance  from 
some  plants  but  by  bruising  them.  The  spices 
in  the  Temple  of  old  were  hruised.  The  gold 
of  its  candlestick  was  heaten  gold !  It  was 
when  the  Marah-fountain  of  thy  heart  was 
bitter  with  sin,  that  He  cast  in  some  cross— 
8 


86  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

some    trial — and    "the  waters  were    made 
sweet !" 

My  soul,  be  still !  Thou  hast  in  affliction 
one  means  of  glorifying  God,  which  even  an- 
gels have  not  in  a  sorrowless  world  : — Pa- 
tience under  the  rod — Submission  to  thy 
Heavenly  Father's  will !  Pray  not  to  have 
thine  affliction  removed,  but  for  grace  to  bear 
up  under  it,  so  that  thou  mayest  glorify  God 
even  "  in  the  fires  ;"  and,  remembering  that 
though  "  weeping  endureth  for  a  night,  joy 
cometh  in  the  morning,"  close  thy  tearful 
eyes,  saying,— 


"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY  ME  DOWN  IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;  FOR 
THOU,  LORD,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME  DWELL  IN  SAFETY  1" 


ON   THY   INVITATIONS. 

"Him  that  cometb.  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." — 
John  vi.  37. 

In  no  wise  !  How  broad  is  the  door  of  wel- 
come !  "  God,"  says  a  holy  writer,  "  is  like 
one  on  his  knees,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and 
extreme  fervor  in  his  soul,  beseeching  the 
sinner  to  be  saved  !"  He  met  the  prodigal 
son  half-way.  Ere  the  ungrateful  wanderer 
could  stammer  forth  through  penitential  tears 
the  confession  of  his  sins,  the  arms  of  mercy 
were  around  him.  The  prodigal  thought  of 
no  more  than  the  menial's  place  :  the  Father 
had  in  readiness  the  best  robe  and  the  fatted 
calf !  "  There  is  no  such  argument,"  says 
Bishop  Reynolds,  "  for  our  turning  to  God, 
as  His  turning  to  us."     He  has  the  first  word 


88  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

in  the  overtures  of  mercy.  He  refuses  none 
— He  welcomes  all ! — The  poor — the  wretched 
— the  blind — ^the  naked — the  burdened — the 
heavy-laden ; — the  hardened  sinner — ^the  aged 
sinner — the  daring  sinner — the  dying  sinner 
— ALL  are  invited  to  the  conference  :  "  Come 
now,  and  let  us  reason  together  !"  The  most 
parched  tongue  that  laps  the  streams  from 
the  smitten  rock  has  everlasting  life !  "  When 
we  forgive,  it  costs  us  an  effort ;  when  God 
forgives,  it  is  His  delight."  From  the  bat- 
tlements of  heaven  He  is  calling  after  us  : 
"  Turn  ye !  turn  ye !  Why  will  ye  die  ?" 
He  seems  to  wonder  if  sinners  have  pleasure 
in  their  ,own  death.  He  declares,  "/  have 
none  /" 

Reader  !  have  you  yet  closed  with  the 
Gospel's  free  invitations?  Have  you  gone 
just  as  you  are — with  all  the  raggedness  of 
!N"ature's  garments — standing  in  your  own 
nothingness — feeling  that  you  are  insolvent — 
that  you  have  "nothing  to  pay" — already  a 
bankrupt,  and  the  debt  always   increasing  % 


p— ___ 

ON   THY   INVITATIOXS.  89 

Have  you  taken  hold  of  that  blessed  assur- 
ance, "  He  is  able  to  save  unto  tlie  uttermost  V" 
Are  you  resting  your  eternal  all  on  Him  who 
has  done  all  and  suffered  all  for  you ;  leaving 
you,  "  without  money  and  without  price,"  a 
free,  full,  unconditional  offer  of  a  great  sal- 
vation ?  Say  not  your  sins  are  too  many — 
the  crimson  dye  too  deep.  It  is  because  you 
are  a  great  sinner,  and  have  great  sins,  that 
you  need  a  great  Saviour.  "  Of  whom  I  am 
the  chief  ^"^  is  a  golden  postscript  to  the  "  faith- 
ful saying." 

Do  not  dishonor  God  by  casting  doubts  on 
His  ability  or  willingness.  K  your  sins  are 
heinous,  you  will  be  all  the  greater  monu- 
ment of  grace.  You  may  be  the  weakest  and 
unwoi-thiest  of  vessels  ;  but,  remember,  there 
was  a  niche  in  the  temple  for  great  and  for 
small — for  "  vessels  of  cups"  as  well  as  for 
"  vessels  of  flagons  ;" — aye,  and  the  smallest 
vessel  glorifies  Christ ! 

Arise  !  then,  call  upon  thy  God  !  We  can- 
not say,  with  the  king  of  Nineveh,  "Who 
8* 


90  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

can  tell  if  God  will  turn  ?"  He  is  "turning" 
now — importunately  pleading  and  averring 
on  His  own  immutable  word,  that  He  will 
"  in  no  wise  cast  out !"  "  Though  ye  have 
lien  among  the  pots,  ye  shall  be  as  doves, 
whose  wings  are  covered  with  silver,  and 
their  feathers  with  yellow  gold !"  Close 
without  delay  with  these  precious  invitations, 
that,  so  looking  up  to  a  reconciled  God  and 
Father  in  heaven,  you  may  even  this  night 
say— 

"  I  WILL  BOTH   LAY  ME   DOWN  IN   PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;   FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST  ME   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  1" 


ON   THY   CONSOLATIONS. 

"Coinfortye,  comfort  ye,  my  people,  saith  your  God!" 
— ISA.  2l.  1. 

God's  people  are  often  apt  to  be  "  discour- 
aged because  of  the  waj."  In  the  bitterness 
of  their  spirits,  they  are  often  apt  to  saj,  with 
desponding  Zion,  "The  Lord  hath  forsaken 
me,"  or  with  the  faithless  prophet,  "  It  is  bet- 
ter for  me  to  die  than  to  live." 

But  the  Christian  has  his  consolations  too, 
and  they  are  "strong  consolations."  The 
"  still  small  voice"  mingles  with  the  hurri- 
cane and  the  storm.  The  bush  bums  with 
fire,  but  the  Great  God  is  in  the  bush,  and 
therefore  it  is  indestructible  1  "  The  Lord 
liveth,  and  blessed  be  my  rock ;  and  let  the 
God  of  my  salvation  be  exalted  !"    Earthly 


92  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

consolations  may  help  to  dry  one  tear,  but 
another  is  ready  to  flow :  God  dries  all. 
There  is  no  want  in  the  aching  voids  of  the 
sinner's  heart  but  He  can  supply. 

Is  it  mercy  to  pardon  ?  I  can  look  uj^  to 
the  throne  of  the  most  high  God,  and  see  Ho- 
liness and  Righteousness,  and  Justice  and 
Truth,  all  bending  in  exulting  harmony  over 
my  ruined  soul,  exclaiming,  "  This  is  a  faith- 
ful saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 


ners 


!" 


Is  it  grace  to  help  ?  I  can  look  up  to  that 
same  throne,  and  behold  seated  thereon  a 
Great  High  Priest ;  nay,  a  mighty  "  Prince, 
having  power  with  God,  and  prevailing" — 
"  prayer  without  ceasing"  ascending  from  His 
lips  in  behalf  of  His  people.  When  Satan 
seeks  "  to  sift"  them  on  earth,  His  upholding 
power  protects  them  in  heaven  !  When 
temptation  assails  them  in  their  earthly  con 
flicts,  the  true  Moses  on  the  Mount,  with 
hands  that  never  "  grow  heavy,' '  makes  them 


ON   THY   CONSOLATIONS.  93 

"  more  than  conquerors."  When  trial  threat- 
ens to  prostrate  them,  He  identifies  Himself 
witli  the  sufferers — He  points  to  His  own  sor- 
rows to  show  them  how  light  the  heaviest  of 
earth's  sorrows  are  !  Even  over  the  gloomy 
portals  of  the  grave  He  can  write,  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  !"  He  alone  felt  Death's  sub- 
stance— His  people  only  "see  the  shadow." 
He  makes  it  a  "  Yalley  of  Achor,"  through 
which  "  the  two  spies,  Faith  and  Hope," 
fetch  back  Eschol-pledges  of  the  True  Land 
of  Promise  ! 

My  soul !  art  thou  now  weary,  or  despond- 
ing ?  Is  some  cross  heavy  on  tbee — some 
trial  oppressing  thee — some  thorn  in  the 
flesh  sorely  lacerating  thee  ?  Be  still !  He 
will  make  His  "  grace  sufficient  for  thee." 
If  He  has  allured  thee  into  the  wilderness,  it 
is  that  He  may  speak  comfortably  unto  thee. 
He  has  an  antidote  for  every  bosom — a  balm 
for  every  heart — a  comfort  for  every  pang — ■ 
a  solace  for  every  tear.     "  In  the  multitude 


94  THE  KIGHT  "WATCHES. 

of  my  thoughts  within  me,  Thy  comforts  de- 
light my  soul !" 

"  Tis  my  happiness  below 

Not  to  live  without  the  cross, 
But  the  Saviour's  power  to  know. 
Sanctifying  every  loss. 

"  Trials  must  and  will  befall ; 
But  with  humble  faith  to  see 
Love  inscribed  upon  them  all, —  -  j 

This  is  happiness  to  me !  j 

"  Trials  make  the  promise  sweet, 
Trials  give  new  life  to  prayer, 
Trials  bring  me  to  His  feet, 

Lay  nie  low,  and  keep  me  there !" 

"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY  ME  DOWN  IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;  FOE  THOU, 


I 


LOED,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME  DWELL  IN  SAFETY 


ON    THY    PATHS. 

'All  the  path.3  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  trutli  unto 
such,  as  keep  His  covenant  and  His  testimonies." — Pa. 
XXV.  10. 

"  All  the  Paths  !"  It  is  no  small  effort 
of  faith  to  say  so, — when  blessings  are  blown 
upon  and  schemes  crossed,  and  fellow-pil- 
grims (it  may  be  beloved  helpmeets  in  our 
spiritual  joys)  mysteriously  removed, — to 
say,  "  All — ALL  is  mercy  ! — All — all  is  well !" 

But  they  are  "  the  paths  of  the  LorcV — 
His  choosing  ;  and  be  assured  He  will  "  lead 
His  people  by  a  right  way."  It  may  not  be 
the  way  of  their  own  selecting.  It  may  be 
the  very  last  they  would  have  chosen.  But 
when  He  leadeth  His  sheep,  "  He  goeth  he- 
fore  them  /"     The  Shepherd  stakes  off  our 


96  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

pasture-ground.  He  guides  "the  footsteps 
of  the  flock."  He  will  lead  them  by  no 
rougher  way  than  He  sees  needful.  Does  a 
father  give  his  child  his  own  way  ?  If  lie 
did,  it  would  be  his  ruin.  Will  God  surren- 
der us  to  our  own  truant  wills,  which  are  bent 
on  nothing  so  much  as  wandering  farthest 
from  the  Shepherd  ?  He  knows  us  better — 
He  loves  us  hetter  I 

My  soul !  it  is  the  loftiest  triumph  and  pre- 
rogative of  faith  to  have  no  way — no  path  of 
thine  own — but  with  childlike  simplicity  and 
reliance  to  say,  "  Teach  me  Thy  paths !'' 
"  Undertake  Thoti  for  me  !"  Lead  me  hoic- 
soever  and  luheresoever  Thou  pleasest.  Let  it 
be  through  the  darkest,  loneliest,  thorniest 
way — only  let  it  bring  me  nearer  Thyself. 

"  0  tell  me,  Thou  life  and  delight  of  my  soul, 

Where  the  flock  of  Thy  pasture  are  feeding  ; 
I  seek  Thy  protection,  I  need  Thy  control ; 

I  would  go  where  my  Shepherd  is  leading. 
0  tell  me  the  place  where  Tby  flock  are  at  rest,  j 

Where  the  noon-tide  will  find  them  reposing !  j 

The  tempest  now  rages,  my  soul  is  distrest,  | 

And  the  pathway  of  peace  I  am  losing !"  i 


ON   THY   PATHS.  97 

O  that  we  could  keep  our  eye  not  so  mucli 
on  the  path,  as  on  the  bright  wicket-gate 
which  terminates  it !  When  standing  at  that 
luminous  portal,  we  shall  trace,  with  adoring 
wonder,  the  way  in  which  our  God  has  led  us, 
discerning  the  "need-be"  of  every  tear-drop  ; 
— and  to  the  question,  "  Is  it  well?"  to  which 
often  on  earth  we  gave  an  evasive  answer, 
ready  with  an  unhesitating,  "It  is  well  !" 
"What  a  light  will  then  be  flashed  on  these 
three  oft  mysterious  words,  "  God  is  Love  !" 
Then,  at  least,  shall  we  be  able  to  add  the 
joyful  comment — "  We  have  known  and  be- 
lieved the  love  which  God  hath  to  us  !" 

Meanwhile,  my  soul !  if  thou  art  treading 
a  path  of  sorrow,  consider,  as  an  encourage- 
ment, that  thy  Lord  and  Master  trod  the  same 
before  thee.  Behold  !  as  He  toils  on  His 
blood-stained  journey,  how  submission  to  the 
Divine  will  forms  the  secret  of  His  support. 
"Even  so,  Father!"  "Xot  my  will,  but 
Thine    be   done  I"      The    True    David    was 

strengthened  with  what  sustained  His  typical 
9 


yo  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

ancestor  in  a  dark  and  trying  hour  :  "  O  Lord, 
thou  art  My  God  /"  Believer !  if  it  be  tJiy 
God  in  covenant  who  is  leading  thee,  what 
more  canst  thou  require  ?  "  His  ways  are 
verity  and  judgment :"  "  He  will  guide  thee, 
while  thou  livest,  by  His  counsel,  and  after- 
ward receive  thee  into  His  glory !"  My 
God  !  if  such  be  the  design  of  thy  dealings 
and  discipline, — 

•*  I   WILL   BOTH    LAY   MK    DOWN   IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP ;   FOR   THOU, 
LOED,    ONLY    MAKEST   MK    DWELL   IN    SAFETY  !" 


ON  THY  SECRET. 

"  The   secret  of  the  Lord  is  -with  them,  that  fear  Him., 

and  He  "wiil  show  them.  His  covenant." — Pa.  xxv.  14. 

My  Soul  !  thy  God  has  some  mighty  Se- 
cret to  confide  to  thee  !  What  is  this,  which 
(a  mystery  to  the  world)  is  to  be  conveyed  in 
whispers  into  the  ears  of  His  people  ?  ''''He 
will  shovj  them  His  Cryoenant  /" 

Listen  this  night  to  this  blessed  "  secret." 
Thou  hast  pondered  it  oft  before.  But  its 
wonders  never  diminish  by  repetition. 

The  Autlif/r  of  it  is  God — the  Eternal  Fa- 
ther !  He  framed  its  articles  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world.  It  is  an  inverted  order 
of  truth  that  would  represent  the  atonement 
as  the  cause  of  God's  love :  that  love  was 
rather  the  originating  cause  of  the  atonement 


100  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

— "  God  SO  loved  the  world  !"  How  runs  the 
Covenant-Charter  ? — "  All  things  are  yours  ! 
Ye  are  Christ's  !"  "  Christ  is  God's  /"  The 
initiative — the  first  overture  of  covenant  mercy 
— was  with  Him.  It  was  the  insulted  Sove- 
reign who  first  dreamt  of  clemency  towards 
the  rebels — the  injured  Father  who  first 
thought  of  His  ungrateful  children !  Won- 
drous secret ! — that  from  all  eternity  the  Heart 
of  God  was  to  us  all  Love  ! 

Think  of  the  Surety  of  the  Covenant !  It 
was  the  adorable  Son  of  the  Father !  He 
voluntarily  closed  with  the  Covenant  stipula- 
tions :  "  Lo,  I  come  !  I  delight  to  do  Thy 
will,  O  my  God  !"  He  ceased  not  until,  all 
the  terms  being  fulfilled,  He  could  claim  His 
stipulated  reward  :  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  on 
the  earth,  I  have  finished  the  work  which 
Thou  gavest  Me  to  do  !"  And  still  He  lives, 
and  reigns,  and  intercedes  under  the  blessed 
title  of  "  Mediator  of  the  Everlasting  Cov- 
enant !" 

Think  of  the  Almighty  dispenser  of  the 


ON   THY   SECRET.  101 

blessings  of  the  Covenant. — It  is  the  Spirit 
of  all  Grace — the  third  person  in  the  ever- 
blessed,  co-equal  Trinity  !  Think  of  the 
Heirs  of  the  Covenant.  They  are  all  who, 
by  simple  faith,  are  willing  to  appropriate  its 
inestimable  blessings  !  Think  of  the  Security 
of  the  Covenant.  There  is  nothing  but  con- 
tingency in  other  things — all  is  certainty 
here :  "  I  will  be  unto  you  a  God,  and  ye 
shall  be  to  me  a  people  !"  Sure  !  it  has  the 
rock  of  Christ's  Deity  to  rest  upon,  and  a 
Triune  God  pledged  to  make  good  all  its  pro- 
visions— "My  covenant  will  I  not  break,  nor 
alter  the  word  that  has  gone  out  of  my 
mouth !"  Think  of  the  Perpetuity  of  the 
Covenant :  "  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  m.Q  for- 
ever /"  Think  of  the  rich  Inheritance  of  the 
Covenant.  Oh !  here  is  the  mighty  secret  of 
unfathomable  love  :  "  If  children,  then  Heirs 
—Seirs  of  God:'  "Heirs  of  God  !"— all 
within  the  compass  of  Omnipotence  to  be- 
stow!    "God,"  says  Bishop  Beveridge,  "  thus 

speaks,  I  AM  that  I  AM ! — He  puts  His  hand 
9* 


102  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES. 

to  a  blank  that  His  people  may  write  under 
it  what  they  please  that  is  for  their  good  : — 
He  simply  saying,  in  the  general  '  I  AMP  " 
My  soul !  art  thou  an  heir  of  God  ?  Canst 
thou  look  upwards  to  the  throne  of  that  Great 
'•7  J.m,'*  and  say  "-My  OodV  Happier 
words — a  more  glorious  assurance — cannot 
thrill  on  an  archangel's  tongue  !  With  such 
a  Portion,  surely  I  am  independent  of  all 
others.  Let  that  amazing  "  secret"  form  the 
last  thought  of  this  day ;  and,  as  the  Al- 
mighty is  even  now  whispering  it  in  my  ears, 
I  may  close  my  eyes,  repeating — 

"I  WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME  DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP,    FOK  THOU, 
|X>BD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL    IN   SAFETY  1" 


ON    THY    NAME. 

' '  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  To-wer  ;  the  Righteoua 
runneth  into  it,  and  is  safe." — Prov.  xviii.  10. 

Strong  indeed !  "  Salvation  is  for  walls 
and  for  bulwarks."  Every  attribute  of  God- 
head is  such  a  tower — every  perfection  such 
a  Bulwark — all  combined  to  insure  the  Be- 
liever's everlasting  security. 

My  soul !  "walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round 
about  her :  tell  the  towers  thereof.  Mark 
well  her  bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces !" 
Mark  the  strong  Tower  of  Omnipotence  !  It 
proclaims  that  Almightiness  is  on  thy  side — - 
that  there  is  ONE  with  thee  and  for  thee, 
boundless  in  His  resources,  greater  far  than 
all  that  can  be  against  thee ! 

Mark  the  strong  tower  of    Unchangeable- 


104  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

ness!  All  earthlj  fabrics  are  tottering  and 
crumbling  around  thee — the  dearest  of  all 
thine  earthly  refuges  has  written  on  it  the 
doom  of  the  dust.  But,  sheltered  here,  thou 
canst  gaze  unawed  on  all  the  fitful  changes 
of  life,  and  exult  in  an  unchanging  God ! 

Mark  the  strong  Tower  of  Wisdom!  When 
dealings  are  dark,  and  chastisements  myste- 
rious, dost  thou  know  what  it  is  to  retire 
within  this  fortress,  and  to  be  reminded  that 
all,  all  that  befalls  thee,  is  the  planning  of 
unerring  rectitude  and  faithfulness  ? — to  see 
inscribed  on  the  chamber- walls,  "The  only 
Wise  God  !" 

Mark  the  strong  Tower  oiLove  !  When  the 
hurricane  has  been  fierce — thy  heart  break- 
ing with  new  trials — ^the  past  dark — the  fu- 
ture a  dreary  waste — no  lull  in  the  storm — no 
light  in  the  clouds — oh  !  is  it  no  comfort  to 
thee  to  retire  into  this  most  hallowed  of  bul- 
warks, and  read  the  living  motto— emblazon- 
ed on  its  every  turret — "  God  is  love  !" 

My  soul!  art  thou  safe  in  this  impregnable 


I 


ON   THY  NAME.  105 

fortress  ?  Hast  thou  entered  within  the  gate  ? 
Kemember,  it  is  not  to  be  "  near^^  the  city, 
but  m  it.  ISTot  to  know  about  Christ,  but  to 
"  win  Him,  and  be  found  in  Him  !"  One 
footstep  without,  and  the  Avenger  of  blood 
can  cut  thee  down  ! 

"  Turn,  then,  to  the  stronghold  as  a  "  pris- 
oner of  hope !"  Once,  these  were  colossal 
walls  to  exclude.  ]^ow,  they  are  unassail- 
able barriers  to  protect — a  citadel  where  His 
saints  are  "  kept"  by  the  power  of  God. 
Every  portal  is  open ;  and  the  God  of  Mercy 
issues  the  gracious  proclamation, — "  Come, 
my  people,  enter  into  thy  chambers  !" 

How  safe — ^how  happy  here  !  "  If  there 
be  tossing  and  doubting,  it  is  the  heaving  of 
a  ship  at  anchor — not  the  dashing  on  the 
rocks." — (Evans.)  In  God!  "There  is,  in 
this,"  says  President  Edwards,  speaking  of 
the  same  blessed  truth,  "  secured  to  me,  as  it 
were,  a  calm,  sweet  cast,  or  appearance,  of 
glory  in  almost  everything."  "We  can  hear, 
amid  the  surges  of  life,  a  voice  high  above 


106  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

the  storm— the  Name  of  the  Lord — "It  is  //" 
''  It  is  //"  remarks  Bishop  Hall,  "  were  as 
much  as  a  hundred  names.  It  is  I ! — 1 1  your 
Lord  and  Master.  I !  the  Commander  of 
winds  and  waters.  I !  the  Sovereign  Lord 
of  Heaven  and  Earth.  I!  the  God  of  Spirits. 
Let  Heaven  be  but  as  one  Scroll,  and  let  it 
be  written  all  over  with  titles — they  cannot 
express  more  than — It  is  I !  Oh,  sweet  and 
seasonable  word  of  a  gracious  Saviour  ! — able 
to  calm  all  tempests — able  to  revive  all 
hearts — say  but  so  to  my  Soul,  and  I  am 
safe  !" 

♦*  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY  ME  DOWN  IN  PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;  FOB 


I 


THOU,    LORD,    ONLY    MAKEST   ME    DWELL    IN    SAFETY 


ON    THY    FAVOR. 

"In  Thy  favor  is  life  " — Ps.  xxx.  5. 

How  anxious  are  we  to  stand  well  with  our 
fellow-men,  and  secure  their  favor !  are  we 
equally  so  to  stand  well  with  God  ?  The  fa- 
vor of  man,  what  is  it? — A  passing  breath, 
which  a  moment  may  alienate,  a  look  forfeit, 
and  which,  at  best,  a  few  brief  }■  ears  will  for- 
ever terminate.  But  the  favor  of  God — how 
ennobling,  constant,  and  enduring !  In  pos- 
session of  that  favor,  we  are  independent 
alike  of  what  the  world  gives  and  withholds. 
With  it,  we  are  rich,  whatever  else  we  want. 
Without  it,  we  are  poor,  though  we  have  the 
wealth  of  worlds  beside.  Bereft  of  Him,  we 
can   truly  say  with  aged  Jacob,  "I«^m  be- 


108  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

reaved."  Nothing  can  compensate  for  His 
loss,  but  He  can  compensate  for  the  loss  of 
everything  ! 

"  Thou  art,  O  God,  the  hfe  and  light 
Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see ; 
Its  glow  by  day,  its  smile  by  night, 

Are  but  reflections  caught  from  Thee ! 
Where'er  we  turn,  Thy  glories  shine, 
And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  ITiine." 

My  soul !  art  thou  living  a  stranger  to  this 
favor,  under  the  cheerless  sense  of  alienation 
from  God  ?  Sin  uncancelled — peace  unpur- 
chased— all  uncertainty  about  the  question  of 
thine  eternity  ?  Who  need  ask,  living  thus, 
if  thou  art  satisfied,  or  happy  ?  Satisfied ! 
Impossible — nothing  can  satisfy  thine  infinite 
capacities  but  the  infinite  God.  l^othing  can 
fill  up  the  aching  voids  of  thine  immortal  be- 
ing but  Him  ''  who  only  hath  immortality." 
Hapjoy  I  impossible,  too.  There  can  be  no 
happiness  with  sin  unforgiven — the  conscience 
unappeased — imperishable  interests  hanging 
overhead  unsettled  and  unadjusted — death, 
and  judgment,  and  eternity,  all  unprovided 


ON   THY   FAVOR.  109 

for !     Living   at  this    "  dying   rate,"    peace 
must  be  a  stranger  to  your  bosom  ! 

Seek  to  make  up  your  peace  with  God. 
Covet  His  life-giving  favor.  What  a  blessed 
fountain  of  unsullied  joy  has  that  soul  which 
can  look  up  to  Heaven  and  say,  "  God  is 
mine  !"  That  word — that  thought — ^wipes 
away  every  tear-drop,  "  My  Father  !"  What 
though  the  perishable  streams  be  dried,  if 
thou  art  driven  to  learn  the  truth,  "  All  my 
well-springs  are  in  Thee  T''  He  may  empty 
thy  cistern,  but  the  Fountainhead  remains. 
Job  was  the  sorest  of  sufferers,  but  he  could 
bear  patiently  to  be  bereft  of  all,  save  One — 
"  O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him .-"' 
"  Go,"  said  Chrysostom,  exulting  in  this  favor 
of  the  King  of  kings,  when  an  earthly  prin- 
cess tried  to  shake  his  spirit — "  Go,  tell  her 
that  I  fear  nothing  but  sin."  Blessed  state 
of  conscious  security ! 

"  If  Thou  art  mine,  Eternal  God ! 
Let  fraud  or  malice,  storm  or  flood, 
Bear  all  besides  away : 
10 


110  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

The  soul's  best  treasure  lies  too  deep 
For  spoiler's  arm  or  fortune's  sweep, 
Or  time's  more  sure  decay  ! 

Death,  that  all  meaner  bliss  destroys, 
Robs  not  the  spirit  of  its  joys ; 

And  if  his  stroke  can  sever 
The  fleshly  seal,  'tis  but  to  bring 
The  living  waters  from  their  spring, 

And  bid  them  gush  forever." 

The  same  mighty  consolation  which  sup- 
ported Jesus  in  His  season  of  humiliation, 
forms  the  solace  and  rejoicing  of  His  true 
people — "  Because  He  is  on  my  right  hand,  I 
shall  not  be  moved."  Blessed  Jesus !  do 
Thou  encompass  me  this  night  with  Thy  favor 
as  with  a  shield,  and  then 


I   WILL     BOTH     LAY     ME     DOWN     IN     PEACE     AND     SLEEP;    FOR 
THOU,    LORD,    ONLY    MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  I" 


ON  THY  JEWELS. 

'They  shall  he  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  in  that 
day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels." — Mal.  iii.  17. 

"  My  Jewels  !"  {marg.  My  peculiar  treas- 
ure.) Of  what  favored  created  beings  does 
Jehovah  thus  speak  ?  Is  it  of  seraphs  ? — of 
angels  ?  Methinks  at  such  a  title  even  they 
would  take  the  dust  of  abasement,  and  veiling 
their  faces,  cry,  "  Unclean !  unclean  !"  But 
marvel  of  marvels ! — It  is  redeemed  sinners 
of  the  earth — the  fallen  children  of  men,  once 
rude,  unshapely  stones,  lying  in  "  the  horri- 
ble pit  and  the  miry  clay,"  amid  the  rubbish 
of  corruption,  who  are  thus  sought  out  by 
grace,  purchased  by  love,  destined  through 
eternity  to  be  set  as  jewels  in  the  crown  of 
the  eternal  God ! 


112  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

"  The  Lord's  portion  is  His  people  !"  There 
is  a  surpassing  revelation  of  love  here  !  Great, 
unspeakably  great,  is  the  privilege  of  the  Be- 
liever, to  be  able  to  look  up  to  the  everlasting 
Jehovah  and  say,  "  Thou  art  my  portion,  O 
Lord  !"  But  what  is  this  in  comparison  with 
the  response  of  Omnipotence  to  the  child  of 
dust,  "  Thou  art  MineT 

My  soul !  hast  thou  learnt  to  lisp  thy  part 
in  this  wondrous  interchange  of  covenant- 
love,  "  My  beloved  is  Mine,  and  I  am  His  ?" 
What  an  array  of  wondrous  titles  belong  to 
the  saints  of  God,  and  given,  too,  by  God  him- 
self in  His  own  Word.  "  He  calls  them  Sons 
as  often  as  sinners  !"  Brethren  !  Princes  ! 
Friends !  Heirs !  Jewels !  Portions  !  "  MineP'' 

And  when  is  tlfe  time  when  they  become 
thus  dear  to  Him  ?  Sinner  !  when  thou  didst 
weep  at  the  cross  of  Jesus,  and  joined  thyself 
in  covenant  with  God,  thou  becamest  His 
Jewel  1  Nay,  "  He  has  loved  thee  with  an 
everlasting  love  !"  True,  thou  art  not  yet  set 
in  His  crown  ;  thou  art  yet  undergoing  the 


ON   THY   JEWELS.  113 

process  of  polishing.  Affliction  is  preparing 
thee  ;  trial  is  needed  to  remove  all  the  rough- 
ness and  inequalities  of  nature,  and  make  thee 
meet  for  thy  Master's  use.  But,  blessed 
thought  ?  "  He  that  hath  wrought  us  [literal- 
ly, chiselled  or  polished  us]  for  the  self-same 
thing  is  God .'"  Yes,  God  himself,  the  pos- 
sessor, who  prized  that  earthly  jewel  so  much 
as  to  give  in  exchange  for  it  Heaven's  "  Pearl 
of  great  price  !"  He  has  the  polishing  in  His 
own  hand.  He  will  not  deal  too  rashly  or 
roughly ! 

And  where,  meanwhile,  is  the  casket  in 
which  these  Jewels  are  kept  till  the  corona 
tion-day  arrives,  when  the  crown  of  His 
Church  triumphant  (every  saint  a  gem)  will 
be  placed  on  the  head  of  Jesus  ?  It  is  He, 
their  Purchaser,  their  Proprietor,  who  pre- 
serves them.  They  are  "  kept  by  the  Power 
of  God."  Our  great  High  Priest,  the  true 
Aaron ,  has  them  set  in  His  breastplate  ;  He 
bears  them  on  His  heart  on  His  every  ap- 
proach to  the  throne.  They  are  the  precious 
10* 


114  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

stones  set  iu  gold  upon  the  ephod,  and  though 
the  sins  of  His  people,  and  the  designs  of  Sa- 
tan, combine  in  doing  what  they  can  to  erase 
and  destroy  them,  He  declares  that  none  shall 
ever  pluck  them  out  of  His  hand  or  from  His 
heart ! 

A  jewel  in  Immanuel's  crown ! — Not  only 
raised  from  the  dunghill  to  be  set  among 
princes,  but  to  gem  through  eternity  the  fore- 
head that  for  me  was  once  wreathed  with 
thorns  !  Shall  I — can  I — murmur  at  any 
way  my  Saviour  sees  meet  to  polish  and  pre- 
pare me  for  Buch  an  honor  as  this  ? 

Let  me  sink  down  on  my  nightly  pillow 
overpowered  with  the  thought ;  and  as  I  hear 
my  covenant  God  whispering  in  my  ear  the 
astounding  accents,  "  Tkou  art  Mine  /"  I 
may  well  reply, 

•*  I  WILL  BOTH   LAY   ME  DOWN   IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP  ;    FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKBST  ME   DWELL   IN  SAFETY  !" 


ON  THY  JUDGMENT-SEAT. 

"  We  must  all  appear  before  the  Judgment-seat  of 
Christ!"— 2  Cob.  v.  10. 

"  All  !"  There  is  no  eluding  that  search- 
ing scrutiny — "  Every  eye  shall  see  Him  !" 
My  soul !  if  safe  in  the  covenant,  there  is  to 
thee  no  terror  in  that  coming  reckoning. 
The  judicial  dealing  between  thyself  and 
thy  God  is  already  past.  Thou  art  already 
acquitted.  The  moment  thou  didst  cast  thy- 
self at  the  cross  of  thy  dear  Lord,  the  sen- 
tence of  "  !N'ot  Guilty"  was  pronounced  upon 
thee  ;  and  "  it  is  God  that  justifieth :  who  is 
he  that  condemneth?"  But  this  sentence 
will  be  ratified  and  openly  proclaimed  before 
an  assembled  world.  On  that  great  day  of 
disclosures  God  will  avenge  His  own  elect. 


116  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

All  the  calumnies  and  aspersions  heaped  on 
their  character  will  be  wiped  away.  And  in 
presence  of  devils,  and  angels,  and  men,  the 
approving  sentence  will  go  forth  from  the 
lips  of  the  omniscient  One,  "  Enter  ye  into 
the  joy  of  yom'  Lord." 

And  who  is  to  be  thy  Judge  ?  Who  is  to 
be  enthroned  on  that  tribunal  of  unerring  rec- 
titude, before  whom  every  knee  is  to  bow,  and 
every  heart  is  to  be  laid  open  ?  "  He  hath 
appointed  a  day  in  the  which  He  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  ly  that  Man  whom 
He  hath  ordained  !"  "  That  Man  r  Oh  ! 
it  is  no  stranger  !  It  is  He  who  died  for  thee  ; 
who  is  now  interceding  for  thee  ;  who  will 
then  stand  on  that  latter  day  on  the  earth  to 
espouse  thy  cause,  vindicate  thine  integrity, 
and  utter  the  challenge  to  every  reclaiming 
adversaiy,  "  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the 
charge  of  God's  elect  ?" 

My  soul !  seek  to  know  this  God-Man  Me- 
diator on  a  throne  of  grace,  ere  you  meet 
Him  on  a  throne  of  judgment !     Seek  to  have 


_-J 


ON   THY   JUDGMENT-SEAT.  117 

your  name  now  enrolled  in  this  Book  of  Life, 
that  you  may  hear  it  then  confessed  before 
His  "  Father  and  the  holy  angels." 

What  an  incentive  to  increased  aspirations 
after  holiness  and  higher  sj)iritual  attain- 
ments, to  remember  that  the  awards  of  that 
day  and  of  eternity  will  be  determined  by 
the  transactions  of  time  !  It  is  a  grand  Bible 
principle,  that,  though  justified  by  faith,  we 
shall  be  judged  by  works.  Nay  more,  while 
from  first  to  last,  Jesus,  and  Jesus  alone,  is 
the  meritorious  cause  of  salvation,  yet  the 
works  flowing  from  faith  in  Him  and  love  to 
Him  will  regulate  the  degree  of  future  bliss  ; 
whether  we  shall  be  among  the  "  greatest" 
or  ''  the  least  in  the  kingdom" — whether  we 
shall  occupy  the  outskirts  of  glory,  or  revolve 
in  orbits  around  the  throne  in  the  blaze  of 
God's  immediate  presence ! 

Reader !  were  that  trumpet- blast  now  to 
break  on  thine  ear,  wouldst  thou  be  prepared 
with  the  welcome  response,  "  Even  so,  come  ?" 
Seek  to  be  living  in  this  habitual  state  of  holy 


118  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

preparedness,  that  even  the  midnight  cry 
would  not  take  thee  by  surprise ;  that  the 
summons  which  will  prove  so  startling  to  a 
slumbering  world,  would  be  to  thee  the  her- 
ald of  glory — "  He  cometh,  He  cometh  to 
judge  the  earth  !" 

*'  Never  again  your  loins  untie, 
Nor  let  your  torches  waste  and  die, 
Till,  when  the  shadows  thickest  fall, 
Ye  hear  your  Master's  midnight  call !" 

O  the  blessedness  of  being  able,  in  sweet 
confidence  in  the  Saviour's  second  coming,  to 
compose  myself  to  rest  night  after  night,  and 
say,  ''  Even  though  the  trumpet  of  judgment 
should  break  upon  my  ears, 

"I    WILL     BOTH     LAY     ME     DOWN    IN     PEACE    AND     SLEEP;    FOR 
THOU,    LOED,    ONLY    MAKEST   ME    DWELL    IN    SAFETY  !" 


L. 


ON   THY    BANQUETING-HOUSE. 

"  He  "brought  me  to  the  Banqueting-houae." — Cant,  ii.  4. 

"  He  brought  me  !" — all  of  grace  !  He  jus- 
tifies, He  glorifies.  The  top-stone  is  brought 
forth,  the  banqueting-house  is  entered,  with 
shoutings,  saying,  "  Grace,  grace  unto  it !" 
Mj  soul !  contemplate  the  journey  ended,  the 
course  finished,  the  victory  won  !  Seated  at 
the  supper-table  of  the  Lamb  in  glory,  guest 
talking  to  guest  with  bounding  hearts,  re- 
counting their  Lord's  dealings  on  earth — the 
Avatchword  circulating  from  tongue  to  tongue, 
"  He  hath  done  all  things  well  !"  Angels 
and  archangels,  too,  will  be  participants  in 
that  banquet  of  glorj^,  and  bright  seraphs, 
who  never  knew  what  it  was  to  have  a  heart 


120  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

of  sin  or  to  shed  a  tear  of  sorrow.  But  for 
this  reason,  there  will  be  one  element  of  joy 
peculiar  to  the  redeemed,  into  which  the 
other  unf alien  guests  cannot  enter — the  ''^  joy 
of  GontrasV^  How  will  the  present  "  great 
tribulation"  augment  the  bliss  of  a  world  at 
once  sinless  and  sorrowless  !  How  will  earth's 
woe-worn  cheek,  and  sin-stricken  spirit,  and 
tear-dimmed  eye,  enhance  the  glories  of  that 
perfect  state  where  there  is  not  the  type  or 
symbol  of  sadness,  not  the  solitary  trace  of 
one  lingering  tear-drop !  Then  will  be  re- 
alized that  sweet  paradox,  "  They  rest," 
"They  rest  not !"  ''''The  rest  without  a  rest  f^ 
"They  restP'' — the  eternal  pause  and  cessa- 
tion from  all  the  feverish  disquietudes  of  this 
world's  sins  and  sorrows,  all  that  would  dis- 
turb the  rapture  of  a  holy  repose,  and  yet 
the  restless  activity  of  holiness — the  Divine 
energy  of  beings  whose  grand  element  of  hap- 
piness is  employment  in  the  service  and  ex- 
ecuting the  will  of  God.  In  this  "  they  cease 
not  day  nor  night."     It  is  siiblimely  said  of 


ON   THY  BANQUETESTG-HOTISE.  121 

the  God  before  whom  they  hymn  their  an- 
thems and  cast  their  crowns,  "  He  inhabiteth 
the  praises  of  eternity !" 

My  soul !  seek  often  to  ponder,  in  the 
midst  of  thy  days  of  sadness,  the  joys  of  that 
eternal  banqueting- house.  "  Ye  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more  !"  One 
moment  at  that  table — one  crumb  of  the 
heavenly  manna — one  draught  from  the  river 
of  life,  and  all  the  bitter  experiences  of  the 
valley  of  tears  will  be  obliterated  and  forgot- 
ten! Look  upwards  even  now,  and  behold 
thy  dear  Lord  preparing  for  thee  this  glorious 
"  feast  of  fat  things."  "  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you."  "  I  will  come  again,  and  re- 
ceive you  unto  myself !" — He  has  Himself 
entered  the  Banqueting-house  as  the  earnest 
and  forerunner  of  the  coming  Guests.  He, 
the  first  Sheaf  of  the  mighty  harvest,  has 
been  waved  before  God  in  the  temple  of  the 
'New  Jerusalem,  as  a  pledge  of  the  immortal 
sheaves  still  to  be  gathered  into  the  heavenly 

garner.     The  invitation  is  issued,  "  Come,  for 
11 


122  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

all  things  are  ready  !  the  oxen  and  the  fat- 
lings  are  killed  !"  My  soul !  prepare  for  the 
meeting ;  suitably  attire  thyself  for  such  a 
glorious  banquet.  Put  on  thy  beautiful  gar- 
ments— that  righteousness  of  Jesus,  without 
which  thou  canst  not  be  accepted — that  holi- 
ness of  heart,  without  which  thou  canst  not 
be  an  accejptahle  guest.  Soon  shall  the  little 
hour  of  life's  unquiet  dream  be  over ;  and 
then,  O  the  glorious  surprise  of  being  ushered 
into  that  banqueting-table — to  \x^(m forever 
the  blessedness  of  those  "  who  are  called  unto 
the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb  !" 

With  the  prospect  of  such  joys  awaiting 
me  in  the  morning  of  immortality,  with  the 
dark  nights  of  death  before  me,  and  the  grave 
my  couch,  I  shall  be  able  to  say  even  of  its 
lonely  chamber — 

"  I  WILL  BOTH  LAY   ME    DOWN  IN   PEACE   AND   SLEEP  ;    FOR  THOU, 
LORD,  ONLY   MAKEST   ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


ON  THY  PEESENCE. 

"In  Thy  presence  there  is  fulness  of  joy." — Ps.  xvi.  12. 

Even  in  this  world,  where  there  is  mucli  of 
God,  how  sweet  to  the  Christian  is  the  sense 
of  His  presence,  and  friendship,  and  love  ! 
"What  will  it  be  in  that  world,  where  it  is  all 
of  God  ?  The  foretaste  is  blessed — what  must 
be  the  fruition!  The  rays  of  the  Divine 
glory  are  gladdening — what  must  be  the  full 
blaze  of  that  Sun  itself ! 

My  soul !  dost  thou  often  delight  to  pause 
in  thy  journey  ? — does  faith  love  to  ascend  its 
Pisgah-Mount  and  get  a  prospect  of  this  Land 
of  Promise  ?  What  is  the  grand  feature  and 
element  which  swallows  up  all  the  circumstan- 
tials in  thy  future  bliss  ?     Let  Patriarchs,  Pro- 


124  THE   NIGHT    WATCHES. 

phets,  and  Apostles,  answer — It  is  "  Thy 
Presence."  "In  mj  flesh,  I  shall  see  GodP'^ 
says  one.  "  I  shall  be  satisfied,"  says  an- 
other, "  when  I  awake,  with  Thy  likeness." 
"They  shall  see  His  face,"  says  a  third. 
Amid  all  the  glowing  visions  of  a  coming 
Heaven  vouchsafed  to  John  in  Patmos,  there 
is  One  all-glorious  object  that  has  ever  a  peer- 
less and  distinctive  pre-eminence — God  him- 
self. There  is  no  candle — Why?  "For  the 
Lord  God  giveth  them  light  ?"  There  is  no 
temple — Why  ?  "  For  the  Lord  God  and  the 
Lamb  are  the  temple  thereof !"  The  Saints 
dwell  in  holy  brotherhood  ;  but  what  is  the 
mighty  bond  of  their  union — their  "  chief  est 
joy  ?" — "  He  that  sitteth  on  the  Throne  dwells 
among  them  !"  They  have  no  longer  the  in- 
tervention of  ordinances  and  means — Why  ? 
Because  "  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  Throne  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them  to 
living  fountains  of  waters  !"  They  no  longer 
draw  on  the  storehouse  of  the  Promises — And 
why  ?      Because    "  God   himself  shall  wipe 


ON   THY   PRESENCE.  125 

away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  !"  "  Ko  nap- 
kin," says  a  holy  man,  "  but  His  own  imme- 
diate hand,  shall  wipe  my  sinful  face  !" 

My  soul !  here  is  the  true  "'PenieV — ■ 
where  you  will  "  see  God  face  to  face !" 
Here  is  the  true  ^'' Mahanaim'''^ — where  "  the 
Angels  of  God  meet  you  !"  Here  is  the  true 
Communion  of  Saints — "  The  glorious  fellow- 
ship of  the  Prophets — the  goodly  fellowship 
of  the  Apostles — the  noble  army  of  Martyrs  !'* 
Yet  all  these  latter  will  be  subservient  and 
,  subordinate  to  the  first — the  vision  and  frui- 
tion of  God!  Even  the  recognition  of  the 
death-divided  (that  sweet  element  in  the  Be- 
liever's prospect  of  bliss)  will  pale  in  compari- 
son into  a  taper-light  before  this  "  Glory  that 
excelleth !" 

Keader !  art  thou  among  these  "  pure  in 
heart,"  who  are  to  "  see  God  ?"  Remember 
the  Bible's  solemn  interdict — "  Without  holi- 
ness no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  !"  Remember 
its  solemn  admonition — "  And  every  man  that 

hath  this  hope  in  Him,  purifieth  himself  even 
11* 

I 


126  THE   NIGHT  WATCHES. 

as  He  is  pure  !"  To  "see  God  !"  O  what 
preparation  needed  for  so  august  a  contem- 
plation !  Infinite  unworthiness  and  nothing- 
ness to  stand  in  the  presence  of  Infinite  Ma- 
jesty, Purity,  and  Glory  ! 

Can  I  wonder  at  the  much  discipline  re- 
quired ere  I  can  be  thus  "  -presented faultless 
before  the  presence  of  His  glory  F"  How  will 
these  needed  furnace-fires  be  dimmed  into 
nothing  when  viewed  from  the  Sapphire 
throne  !  "  Heart  and  flesh  may  be  fainting 
and  failing ;"  but,  remembering  that  that 
same  God  is  now  "  the  strength  of  my  heart," 
who  is  to  be  my  "  portion  forever,"  I  may 
joyfully  say— 

*'  1   WILL  BOTH    LAY   ME   DOWN   IN   PEACE  AND  SLEEP  ;   FOR  THOD, 
LOED,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME   DWELL   IN   SAFETY  !" 


ON   THT  CLOSING   CALL. 

"Now  is  the  accepted  time  :  "behold  !  now  is  the  day  of 

salvation." — 2  Cor.  vi.  2. 

Eeader  !  how  stands  it  with  thee  ?  Is  the 
question  of  thy  eternity  finally  and  forever 
adjusted  ?  Art  thou  at  peace  with  God  ? 
Canst  thou  say  with  Paul,  in  the  prospect  of 
death,  "  I  am  now  ready  ?"  Hast  thou  been 
led  to  feel  the  infinite  peril  of  postponement 
and  procrastination,  and  responded  to  the  ap- 
peal— "  Behold  !  JVow  /"  Ah  !  how  many 
have  found,  when  the  imagined  hour  of  death- 
bed preparation  had  come,  that  the  tear  of 
penitence  was  too  late  to  be  shed,  and  the 
prayer  of  mercy  too  late  to  be  uttered  ! 

Let  there  be  plain  dealing  between  thy  con- 


128  THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

science  and  thy  God.  Seek  not  to  escape 
from  the  pressing  urgency  of  the  question. 
Thou  mayest  dismiss  it  now,  but  there  is  a 
day  coming  when  thou  durst  not !  Let  it  not 
merge  in  vague  generalities — let  it  be  realized 
as  matter  of  personal  concernment — of  infinite 
moment  to  thyself — "  Am  I  saved,  or  am  I 
not  saved  ? — am  I  prepared,  or  am  I  unpre- 
pared, to  meet  my  God  ?"  Thou  mayest 
have,  perhaps,  an  honest  purpose  of  giving  it 
some  future  entertainment  at  another  and 
"  more  convenient  season."  Do  we  ever  read 
of  Felix's  "  mor^"  convenient  season  ?  It 
were  better  not  to  risk  to  the  experiment  of  a 
dying  hour  the  solution  of  the  problem — "  Is 
it  safe  to  delay  ?"  Take  it  on  trust,  that  it  is 
a  hard  matter — a  conference  about  the  soul 
on  the  brink  of  eternity  !  Eemember,  "  God's 
Spirit  will  not  always  strive  !"  All  His  other 
attributes  are  infinite,  but  His  patience  and 
forbearance  have  their  "  bounds  and  limits." 
The  invitation  which  is  thine  to-day  may  be 
withdrawn  to-morrow.     The  axe  may  be  even 


ON   THY   CLOSING   CALL.  129 

now  laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  and  the  sen- 
tence on  the  wing,  "  Cut  it  down  I" 

How  awful,  if  it  really  be  that  thou  art  yet 
living  in  this  state  of  estrangement  and  guilt ! 
What  a  surrender  of  present  peace  !  What  a 
forfeiture  of  eternal  joy  ! 

Haste  thee !  flee  for  thy  life,  lest  thou  be 
consumed  !  Thy  immortality  is  no  trifle  ! 
"  The  night  is  far  spent !"  Who  can  tell,  how 
far  ?  It  may  be  now  or  never  with  thee  ! 
Thou  art  about  once  more  to  lie  down  on  thy 
nightly  pillow.  What  if  thy  awaking  to-mor 
row  were  to  be  "  in  outer  darkness  ?" 

But,  take  courage — That  night  is  not  too 
far  spent !  Close  this  last  of  the  "  IS'ight 
Watches,"  by  fleeing,  without  delay,  to  Jesus 
• — the  Sinner's  Saviour  and  the  Sinner's 
Friend.  It  was  on  the  last  watch  of  the  night 
He  came  of  old  to  His  tempest-tossed  disci- 
ples. Like  them,  receive  Him  now  into  thy 
Soul !  and  have  all  thy  guilty  fears  calmed 
by  His  omnipotent  "  Peace,  be  still  !"  Are 
there  not  ominous  signs  all  around  as  if  the 


130  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES. 

world'' s  last  and  closing  "  night-watch"  had 
set  in  ?  The  billows  are  heaving  high.  We 
hear  the  footsteps  on  the  waters  !  Amid  the 
fitful  moanings  of  the  blast — the  watchword 
is  heard — of  joy  to  some,  of  terror  to  others — 
^'' Maran-atha P'^     "The  Lord  is  coming  !" 

Keader !  art  thou  ready  ?  Is  the  joyous 
response  on  thy  tongue — "  Come,  Lord  Jesus  ; 
come  quickly?"  If  this  night  were  indeed 
tliy  very  last^  and  the  thunders  of  judgment 
were  to  break  upon  thee  ere  daybreak — 
wouldst  thou  be  able,  in  the  assurance  of  an 
eternal  dawn,  to  say — 

"  I  WILL   BOTH  LAY  ME    DOWN    IN    PEACE    AND    SLEEP  ;    FOR  THO^ 
LOED,  ONLY  MAKEST  ME  DWELL  IN  SAFEXr  !" 


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GRAY'S  Elegy,  and  oiher  Poems.     Illustrated.    $1 ;  gilt 150 

BROWN'S  Discourses  and  Sayings  of  Christ.    3  vols 6  00 

THE  SCOTS  WORTHIES.    By  John  Howie.... 1  50 

HOLIDAY  HOUSE.     By  Catharine  Sinclair 75 

DAILY  COMMENTARY.    By  180  Clergymen  of  Scotland. .  3  00 

NEAR  HOME.    By  the  author  of  the  "  Peep  of  Day." 75 

SHADES  OF  CHARACTER.    By  Anne  Woodruflf.    2  vols.  1  50 

DILL  (Dr.)— Ireland's  Miseries,  their  Cause  and  Cure 75 

KITTO  (Dr.)  The  Lost  Senses.     I2mo 100 

McCRIN  DELL— School  Girl  in  France 50 

MAMMA'S  BIBLE  STORIES.    Colored  plates 50 

FANNY  AND  HER  MAMMA.    Colored  plates 50 

LITTLE  LESSONS  for  Littio  Learners.    Colored  plates-.. .  50 

CHILD'S  OV/N  STORY  BOOK.     Colored  plates 50 

RHYMES  FOR  THE  NURSERY,     Colored  plates 50 

CLEVER  STORIES.     By  Mrs.  Sherwood 50 

WATTS'  DIVINE  SONGS.    Colored 40 

LITTLE  ANNIE'S  Second  and  First  Book 75 

VERY  LITTLE  TALES  for  Very  Little  Children.    2  vols. .  75 


Date  Due 

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